Way of the Samurai
by Lily Hanson
Summary: The life of a Samurai has never been an easy one. All those rules, codes and the intense training. Not to mention the weight of the world on your shoulders. Can these teens handle all the pressure?
1. Middle of the Night

_**Author's Note:** Whether this works or not, I apologise for any confusion and I would like to state that this is, in fact, a Power Ranger story. Due to fanfiction's current issues, I decided to post this into a working sectionin hopes of switching it into the Power Ranger section (advice from the forums). If this doesn't work, I apologise and promise to fix the issue as soon as Fanfiction fixes the irritation that is "Error 2"._

**_Disclaimer_**_: I do not own Power Rangers Samurai or any of the characters from the series. They are property of Saban._

* * *

Emily rubbed her wrist and whimpered in pain as she tried to make her way from the bedroom to the bathroom in the dark. After Jayden got Kevin to resist the Nighlok's power she had taken her bandage off, thinking her wrist would be okay. She was used to a little bit of pain given her clumsy childhood, but the soothing bag of peas had thawed during the night and she was left with no other option but to bandage it up again.

To get to the bathroom, she needed to walk through the common room. No trouble there. The big table was surrounded by the large, plush stools that the Rangers had each claimed when they arrived at the Samurai base. She could keep her eyes on the goal: the bathroom door. After all, there was no way she could bump into the table and hurt herself while the stools were surrounding it.

Yet, somehow, she did.

"Ow…" she whined as she tried to feel around for the end of the table to find her way. Of course, she would be the one to find the one hole and run right into the table.

"Sorry."

She frowned and looked down at where the table was. It was dark, but she could see the outline of the table. She pressed her hand against the top and shot the table a curious look.

"Um… it's my fault?"

"No, I moved the chair."

Again, Emily frowned, "You did?"

"Yeah, I needed to think."

Emily stood up straight and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked at the table.

"Okay, something's not right. Why do you sound a lot like Kevin?"

"Because I am Kevin."

Emily furrowed her brow and turned away from the table. While it was dark in the room, she could identify the many objects that made up the décor: the chairs, the tables, the pictures and posters on the wall. Finally, she found the source of the voice. It wasn't the table. It was Kevin.

She let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness. I thought it was the table talking."

For the moment, she forgot about her wrist. She grabbed onto her large stool and pushed it over so it was closer to Kevin. She jumped on top just as it stopped sliding and laid stomach down. Her head, supported by her hands, looked up at Kevin.

"Why are you thinking this late at night?" she asked him.

Kevin shrugged, "I couldn't sleep. I can't help thinking about how I turned on you guys today. How I hurt you and couldn't stop myself."

Emily quickly glanced at her wrist. It still hurt but she wasn't going to bring it up. She titled her head to the other side slightly, relieving the pressure on that wrist.

"I thought Jayden talked to you about that."

"He did," Kevin nodded, "But I still feel bad."

"Would it help if I told you we don't blame you?" Emily smiled. Kevin shrugged his shoulders, at which Emily's smile faded. She had to help him feel better so he could get some sleep. She pushed herself up so she was sitting up straight. She placed her hands in her lap and smiled again.

"Well, we don't," she told him. "We know you would never turn on us like that. The whole time we were just worried about you. Anyways, that Nighlok could have easily hit anyone of us. We were all grouped together. Jayden told us to duck, and Mike was the only one who didn't. You saved him."

Emily then started to chuckle, "You know, maybe if the Nighlok did hit Mike, we wouldn't have had such a big problem. Mike's a great samurai, but you're obviously closest to Jayden's level. That's why it took so long for the spell to break."

Kevin smiled. That did help him feel a little better. The Nighlok hadn't chosen him specifically to be under his spell. Anyone could have been hit; anyone could have fallen prey to the spell. It was only his heroic action that landed him on the dark side, against his friends.

He looked at Emily and thanked her with a smile before a thought occurred to him.

"What are you doing up this late?"

Emily looked around the room quickly, hoping to find her answer without hurting Kevin's feelings.

"Uh, my peas melted…"

He looked at her wrist and remembered that when he stuck her in battle, she had fallen and landed on it awkwardly. He started to feel bad again, but Emily quickly picked up on it.

"I think I just slept on it funny and hurt myself again," she told him quickly and hoped that would pull the blame away from him. She knew just how tough a critic your own self could be, and she didn't want to put Kevin through that needlessly. "Anyways, I was just going to see if there were any more bandages left. I don't like sleeping when my wrist can't move, but it will help with the pain."

Kevin got up from his stool and walked to the bathroom. Emily's eyes followed him as he came back out with a roll of bandage. She held her wrist up and he started wrapping it up.

"Thanks," she whispered when he finished. Kevin nodded.

"It's the least I can do."

Emily pouted. He was stubborn with this self-blaming thing.

"For the last time, Kevin, it's not your fault. We don't blame you. In fact, Mike's blaming himself. If he had ducked, no one would have been hit."

"I heard my name," Mike's voice rang as the green Ranger stepped into the room. He didn't notice Kevin and Emily had moved the stools and ran right onto Kevin's. While the cushion took most of the hit, Mike did manage to slam his foot into the wooden frame supporting the cushion. He groaned in pain and Emily turned to Kevin.

"The bruise on my shin and Mike's foot… that's your fault, no doubt."

Kevin chuckled, "I guess I can accept responsibility."

Mike rubbed his toe as he stole Kevin's seat, "What are you talking about?"

"Kevin's blaming himself for today," she explained. "He feels bad for turning against us, even though Jayden and I have now talked to him."

"Don't worry about it, Kev," Mike smiled. "It could have happened to anyone. It almost happened to me! It would have happened to me if you didn't push me out of the way."

"That's what I told him," Emily chuckled. "Mike's the one who screwed up, not you."

Mike teasingly gasped in shock and shot Emily a mock-hurt look. Emily looked back at him and stuck her tongue out. She knew she was right, and she knew that Mike knew she was right.

Mike shoved the yellow Ranger playfully before turning back to Kevin, "Hey, Kev, don't feel bad about what happened. The important thing is that you don't willingly turn against us, you know. Like if Jayden used that resist symbol and you still chose the Nighloks over us. Then you would have been a douche."

"Mike!" Emily gasped but Kevin nodded his head.

"I see your point. Thanks, Mike."

"No problem," Mike smirked.

Kevin got up, feeling much better after his talk with Mike and Emily. Jayden's words to him had helped earlier. After his talk with the Red Ranger, he didn't feel like he had gone against the way of the Samurai. After all, both he and Jayden had fought each other, and it took two to tango.

But what bothered Kevin was how he had hurt his friends. He could never imagine doing anything to cause them harm. He would never betray Jayden or do anything to intentionally hurt Mike or Emily. And he would certainly never want to turn his back to Mia.

But he had done all those things to them. The only way he could feel better was if he knew that they weren't holding anything against him. It sounded weak, but his team meant a lot to him, their opinion of him was a big deal. He wanted them to know that he could be trusted. After talking with Mike and Emily, he knew that they didn't hold any resentment against them.

He now knew that if he wanted to feel 100% again, he would have to talk to Mia. But that could wait until morning. She was probably still sleeping, and he didn't want to disturb her.

While Kevin returned to his bed, Emily turned to Mike.

"Why are you up?" she asked him curiously. Mike shrugged his shoulders.

"Every few nights I wake up at this time," he told her. "My parents used to hate it when I would waste time playing video games. Whenever they saw me, I would get a lecture about how I could be doing much better things… like going to school, studying or training. So, after they fell asleep, I would always sneak out of my room and play until they woke up. I guess being here hasn't broken that habit yet."

"I guess not," Emily chuckled. "So, did you really drop out of school?"

"Wasn't my thing," Mike nodded. "I just didn't like being there. My friends were bummed I missed graduation, though."

"School's important though," Emily told him. "What if you need something to fall back on?"

"Hey, you shouldn't exactly be preaching to me about school," Mike smirked, "I don't see any homeschooling going on for you. Unless you hide all your textbooks upstairs, you're a drop out too."

"I plan on going back," Emily smiled, "You know, if we ever beat the Nighloks and Master Xandered."

"When," Mike corrected her confidently. Emily frowned thinking his statement was a question.

"Um, after we beat the Nighloks."

"No, no, you said if," Mike explained. "We are going to win this… it might take a while, but I think we stand a pretty good chance."

"Right," Emily nodded. Using the stool, she pushed herself back up to her feet with the intention of going back to bed. Sadly, though, she found she was no longer tired like when she had come downstairs. Her talk to Kevin and Mike had woken her up, and it was going to be a while before she felt sleepy again.

Now she didn't know what to do. She could try going back to bed, but staring up at the ceiling wasn't exactly her idea of fun and yet, it wasn't boring enough to put her to sleep. But there was nothing to do here. Not in the dark. Here it would be boring enough to fall asleep, but she would rather sleep in her own bed.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

"Hey, if you aren't tired we could do that rematch you promised me," Mike suggested when he noticed she was hesitantly to leave. Emily looked at him.

"A rematch?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "Our game with the others earlier. Remember, I rolled the die and shot them off the table. You offered to pick them up but forgot what I had rolled."

"And you had to roll again and you were sent back to start," Emily finished for him and chuckled, "Again."

"Yeah… I don't have much luck in that game," Mike nodded. "But at least if I beat you, I can get my revenge."

Emily walked over to the table, careful not to bump into it this time. She pulled the game box out from underneath, opened the lid, and dumped the game board onto the table.

"Alright, but you can't cry when I beat you," Emily teased. "Mia's a bit of a light sleeper and if she's up early we all know what she's going to do to pass the time."

Mike's face twisted in disgust as he thought of Mia waking up early to make breakfast. He appreciated her going to all that trouble to cook for him and the others, he just wished she would follow the recipes and realise that there was a timer on the oven for a reason.

"Let's make this interesting," he smirked as Emily set up the game board and the cards. She turned to him with a suspicious look.

"Uh-oh."

"Loser has to eat whatever Mia cooks," he grinned. "And, they have to finish it."

"I don't like this bet," Emily shook her head. "There's a reason I'm never around when Mia's in the kitchen. I don't like lying to her!"

"You have to accept the bet, Em," Mike said. He held out his hand, "Come on. It's not like anything she makes can really kill you."

Emily bit her lip, "You better hope I win, then. I don't know if I'll be able to tell her that her food is good without it being obvious that I'm lying."

"Find a way, squirt," Mike said. He picked up the dice and rolled them, "Eleven! Sweet!"


	2. Kitchen Catastrophe

Emily's empty stomach turned as she sat at the breakfast table. After losing to Mike, she had to live up to her end of the deal and humour Mia (as well as the rest of the Rangers), by eating whatever she set on the table and finishing it.

Emily was really starting to regret this decision. Not only because she knew she would have to lie to Mia, but because she wasn't sure how well she would be able to conceal her distaste for the overcooked… whatever was on the plate in Mia's hands.

"Thanks," Emily said as the plate was placed before her. "It… looks very… creative."

"Thanks," Mia grinned proudly as she took her own seat, with her own plate of food. She began to eat it and Emily's stomach turned. Did she not realise the… whatever that green stuff was, was over… or undercooked.

"Mm, looks good, Em," Mike teased the yellow Ranger as he pushed the plate closer to her. Emily reached for her fork.

Mia grinned happily when Mike showed an interest in her food. She jumped out of her seat.

"There's more in the pot!"

"Damn," Mike motioned to his bowl of cereal, "this stuff's pretty filling."

"I'll save some for you for lunch, then," Mia offered. She took her seat again and looked back at Emily. She pushed the plate closer, "You'll need to eat up. I overheard Mentor and Jayden discussing today's training. You'll need the energy."

"Here it goes," Emily breathed. She collected a mouthful on her fork and slowly moved it into her mouth. She bit down and chewed her piece. It was gooey and crunchy. Was that even possible?

She looked at Mia and tried to smile, but her lips wouldn't curl up. She tried to swallow. At least if she could get it down, she could tell Mia it was good. Lying with words was easier than lying through body language.

But, of course, her body chose this moment to forget how to swallow. Actually, it wasn't so much forgetting to swallow, but rather forgetting which way the food travelled when swallowing. Emily could feel Mia's homemade breakfast coming back and pressing against her lips, begging to be released.

Mia watched on, waiting for a reaction from Emily. She had been the only Samurai not to try her food.

Mike watched on nervously. He could tell Emily was having a hard time getting the food down. If she couldn't swallow it, or worse, Mia's secret might be out.

Emily fought with the food for what felt like hours. She put up a good fight, but the meal packed a punch. Before she could do anything to stop it, and before Mike could distract Mia, Emily's food found its way back onto the plate.

"Why does it look exactly the same?" Mike frowned.

Emily covered her plate with her napkin and looked up at Mia, expecting a hurt look. Mia glanced at the plate, then at Emily.

"You're not a fan, huh?" she asked kindly. Emily shook her head. She couldn't lie to Mia. She would feel so guilty afterwards. An anyways, how could she lie? She clearly spit the food back up.

"It wasn't… great."

"Still, Em, you should finish it," Mike said with a grin. He pulled the napkin off Emily's plate and again pushed it closer, "Mia put a lot of hard work into cooking it."

"No, it's fine," Mia smiled. She grabbed Emily's plate, "I'll just make her toast or something."

"I can make myself something," Emily suggested quickly. Mia was better with the toaster than the other appliances, but it was whatever she put on the toast that scared Emily. Yesterday, she had seen the pink Ranger top the toast with homemade jam that she had made. It just didn't look right, even for jam.

"Emily, you should finish it," Mike persisted. He and Emily had a deal, and he wanted to see her holding up her end. After all, he won, fair and square. This was his reward.

"Mike, she doesn't like it," Mia stated sternly. Emily shrank in her chair. This was getting awkward.

"She should finish it," Mike said and quickly, before the words could even make it to his brain, he blurted out, "We had a deal!"

Emily cringed and slid right out of her chair so she was hiding under the table. Now she and Mike were in for it.

"Mia, you're up!" she heard Kevin announce as he and Jayden walked into the kitchen and took their seats.

Mia glanced at Kevin and Jayden quickly before turning to Mike.

"You had a deal?" she frowned. She looked where Emily was sitting, but found the yellow Ranger was missing. She turned back to Mike, "What kind of deal?"

Mike's gaze shifted from side to side as he realised he was caught.

"Uh…"

"Did you know my food was going to be bad?" Mia asked.

Now Mike was really caught. He looked around for Emily before spotting her under the table. Their eyes met and Emily shrugged. She had no idea what to do.

"Kind of…"

"Mike…" Kevin frowned and Mike turned to him.

Mia shook her head; "I can't believe this…" she knelt down and looked under the table, where she now knew Emily was hiding. She looked at the younger girl, "You knew you wouldn't like my food?"

Emily nodded, unsure of what else she could do. She didn't want to tell the truth and hurt Mia's feelings, but lying also wasn't an option.

"How could you know that?" Mia asked her. "You've never tried my food."

"Well… I guess I shouldn't have judged it…"

"Did you tell her it was bad? Do you guys talk about my cooking behind my back?" Mia turned to the boys this time. They had all tried her food and told her they liked it. Now she was hearing otherwise. If they didn't like it, they could have told her! She appreciated the fact that people had different tastes, and that not everyone would like her cooking. She didn't like some of the stuff they ate. Jayden loved pickled eggs and Mia didn't know how he could eat it. He had already offered her some, and she told him honestly that she didn't like it. Kevin was a huge fan of protein shakes and Mia wasn't even willing to put that in her mouth. It just did not look appetizing to her. She had been honest with him about it. Everyone knew of Mike's love of pizza, a food which was liked all around by the Rangers, but there was a certain topping that no one else could eat: pickles. She had no idea how he even managed to come across pizza with pickles. It must have been a dare. Anyways, she was honest with him about that. She had also told Emily she didn't like goat cheese when the yellow Ranger offered her some cheese and crackers, and Mia spit the snack right out. None of them had been offended. Why were they treating her differently?

She turned to look at Jayden and Kevin, and noticed that they too were silent, just like Mike and Emily. Curious at how they would react, she grabbed her breakfast plate and held it out for them.

"Do you guys want some breakfast?" she offered. "There's plenty more where this…"

"We'll pass, Mia… thanks," Jayden stated politely, as if it would make a difference. Mia dropped the plate back on the table.

"I never would have done this to you guys," she whispered. Her voice was full of pain. She turned her back to her friends and ran off.

"Mia!" Emily called after the pink Ranger. She crawled out from under the table and watched as the Pink Ranger locked herself in their room.

"We should let her calm down," Jayden suggested. "It will be easier for her to communicate her feelings when she's calm."

"We should at least try and apologize," Kevin said.

"Mike should apologize," Emily frowned as she turned to the green Ranger. "You forced this."

Mike bowed his head in shame, "I've stuck my foot in my mouth again, haven't it?"

"It's a good thing we only have two girls," Kevin nodded. "At least you can't hurt anyone else… and please don't take that as a challenge to hurt us guys. I think we all have enough problems to deal with."

"Shut up," Mike muttered.

"We should all apologize to Mia," Jayden said. "Once she's calm we can explain ourselves."

"Maybe she'll understand why we didn't tell her," Emily shrugged her shoulders. "We just didn't want to hurt her."

"We did a good job of not hurting her," Kevin sighed. "Look, from now on, how about we just be honest with each other. No more hiding stuff from people just because we think it's going to hurt them. Does that sound fair?"

The other three nodded their heads. It did sound like a good plan.

"I'll go see if she's willing to let us talk… maybe she'll listen if…"

"I'll go," Kevin brushed past Emily. "I have that other thing to apologize for anyways."

"While Kevin checks up on Mia, you guys should eat a proper breakfast. Mentor's expecting us outside in half an hour," Jayden grabbed a breakfast bar, something he knew would give him plenty of energy for the morning, and it was also fast to eat. He liked to arrive early so he could get a little practice in and he could be warmed up by the time the others arrived. The last thing he wanted was to injure himself while given the others a lecture on proper battle techniques. Even he wasn't immune to humiliation and embarrassment.

As he walked off to get washed up and changed into his training clothes, Emily glanced at her plate which was still sitting on the table. She placed her hand on her stomach and shook her head.

"Not hungry."

-Samurai-

Kevin knocked on Mia and Emily's bedroom door before he opened it slowly. He found Mia sitting on her bed, staring out the window. He couldn't hear any sobs and he hoped that was a good sign.

Of course, that could also mean she was angry. He had never really seen Mia get angry, but, of course, she was a samurai. Samurais weren't exactly the best people to piss off.

"I uh… we kinda want to apologize to you…"

"I don't really want to hear it, Kevin," Mia bit while never turning to look at him. Kevin stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Understandable," he nodded his head, "But… will you let me apologize for yesterday?"

This time Mia did turn around. "What?"

"Raising my sword against you… all of you. I wanted to apologize for hurting you and… I want you to know, you can trust me… although my timing there probably sucks."

"I'm not mad at you for yesterday," Mia growled. "Today's a new day, however. Can you tell Jayden and Mentor that I'm going to miss out on practice?"

"So, you're going to skip the opportunity to pound on all of us?" Kevin chuckled. He tried to step in closer to her, but he could feel the tension rising. He backed off, instead, finding it safer. "We'll give you free shots."

"Just, get out," Mia whispered. Kevin hesitated for a moment. He watched as Mia turned back to the window and he could have sworn he heard a sob. He had no idea she loved cooking that much.

"If it helps… cooking is a skill… and people can improve their skills…"

"You don't get it, Kevin. Obviously, none of you get it. If you did, you wouldn't have lied to me in the first place. Just get out. I'm sure you don't want to be late to training."

"Look, Mia… we didn't want…"

"Get out," Mia demanded again with more force in her voice. Defeated, Kevin bowed his head and walked out the door.

That hadn't gone as planned.


	3. Apologies

Training had been going on for hours, as it usually did. In that time, Mia had migrated from her bedroom into the common room, where she could watch her friends – she used the term loosely at the moment – train and spar.

She had been hurt by their actions, not because they didn't like her food, but because they had lied to her about it. She knew they wanted to protect her feelings, but she felt embarrassed, shamed and downright humiliated. She always believed she was a great cook. She cooked just like her mother, and her grandmother! The taste, the texture, the look… it was all the same.

But, if four different people said there was a problem with her cooking, she could handle it. She could ask for tips, pointers, and help. She would actually crack open a cookbook and see what she could find in there. They could have been wrong, she was open to that possibility, but it was more likely that they were right.

What really hurt was that they would talk about her cooking behind her back. They would lie to her face, and then insult her by gossiping about her when she wasn't around. And making deals and bets where the loser had to suffer through her cooking. That was hurtful to another level. She definitely had a bone to pick with Mike.

And Jayden. He was supposed to be the fearless leader. He was supposed to be brave, strong, always working to do what's best, even if that path was difficult. How could he ask the team to respect him if was a hypocrite? How could he expect the team to follow his lead, if he couldn't even find the courage to be honest?

She couldn't be mad at Emily for lying. The yellow Ranger hadn't tried her food. Most likely, Mia assumed at least, Emily avoided Mia's cooking to avoid lying. If she didn't know, she couldn't comment. But it wasn't like sweet, innocent Emily had been doing anything to make things better. She hadn't exactly told Mia when the guys started talking behind her back. She wasn't part of the solution, and therefore, Mia held the rights to be just as angry with Emily for not being truthful.

And then there was Kevin. The blue Ranger who dared walk in here and tell her she could trust him after he had lied to her, along with everyone else. She hated him, right now, more so than the others, for some reason. She felt the most betrayed by him. She thought they had bonded that night she cooked him a meal from scratch, and as it turned out, he was completely repulsed.

She let out a deep breath and crossed her arms as she watched her _people-she-shared-a-home-and-job-with_ fight. She wished she could be out there, hurting them like they hurt her, but she knew she needed them alive for the sake of planet Earth if anything.

"You guys are lucky."

-Samurai-

"Mike, remember to pace yourself," Jayden called as he glanced over to Mike and Kevin just before swinging his katana and taking Emily's legs out from under her. He turned back to her fallen form and shook his head. He held out his hand, offering to help her back up. Emily took it and brushed herself off. She picked up her own katana and focused on getting a better hold. Even when he was distracted, Jayden could still take her down.

"Sorry," she whispered to him.

"You normally do well in this session," Jayden told her as they both dropped into a ready stance. "Are you worried about Mia?"

"A little," Emily nodded. She swung at Jayden, "And there's the fact that you're an expert at this and normally I'm training with her, not you."

Jayden blocked her swing and knocked her weapon from her hands again. Emily groaned and picked it up.

"Don't compare yourself to me," Jayden offered her a smile, "I've been training for this since before I could walk. We're on different levels."

"Got you!" Mike cried out and Jayden and Emily both turned to see Mike holding Kevin down. Finally, the green Ranger had bested the blue, even if it was only sparring.

"Will you let me up now?" Kevin frowned.

"Admit defeat!" Mike chuckled. Clearly he was enjoying this a lot more than Kevin.

"Mike, we're training, this is serious…"

"Admit it!"

"Fine. You win. Let me up now."

Mike got off his training partner and helped him to his feet.

"I'll be fair with you, Kevin. Two out of three?"

Kevin picked up his wooden sword and nodded. Before Mike could turn and grab his own weapon, which he had lost at some point in the last match, Kevin had already bested him. He caught his breath and looked up at Kevin from the ground. The Blue Ranger was leaning on his sword with a smile on his face.

"Next point wins."

"Mike seems to be improving rather quickly. Kevin's a great swordsman. It's not easy getting past his defences. I should know."

"You guys are all pretty good," Emily nodded.

"We're all good," Jayden said, "Mentor and I are impressed at how far along everyone is. Of course, there is always room for improvement. Even Mentor still has a few things to learn."

Jayden and Emily both glanced over to where Mentor was standing and overseeing the training. Emily turned to Jayden and frowned.

"So… does he tell you what to do and then you tell us? Or is this all your idea and he's just here in case something goes wrong?"

Jayden looked down at the yellow Ranger, "What?"

"He doesn't do much when we're training," Emily shrugged her shoulders, "He's always just there."

"Mentor has his reasons," Jayden assured her. "We should get back to our training, before Kevin and Mike manage to surpass both of us."

"Just promise me one thing," Emily said. She fixed her grip on her katana, "You won't take a cheap shot and hit my wrist again."

"You have to be prepared for anything. A Nighlok won't hold back."

"But you're not a Nighlok," Emily muttered under her breath just before jumping out of the way of Jayden's attack.

-Samurai-

Dinner was silent as everyone sat around the common room table eating a meal that Mentor Ji had prepared. Mia, while still angry with the group, had decided to eat her meal with them. However, she wasn't ready to talk, or accept any apologies until they each figured out on their own why she was mad. She didn't want to have to teach these kids about friendship. She was their teammate, not their mother.

Mike looked at the pink Ranger, "So, uh, Mia, did you…"

"Don't even bother, Michael."

Mike nodded his head, "Okay… look, we're very sorry about the whole cooking thing…"

"And I'm sorry I let Mike talk me into the deal," Emily added. "It was stupid of us. We didn't mean to hurt you."

"None of us did," Kevin assured the pink Ranger. Mia scoffed.

"Look where that got you."

"If it helps, we love you in spite of your cooking skills," Emily smiled as she placed her hand on Mia's leg. "And even though I was dreading taking a bite of breakfast this morning, I did appreciate you putting in all that hard work for me."

"Yeah," Kevin nodded as he thought of a way to maybe make Mia feel a bit better about her cooking skills, "Remember that time we helped out the kid. You cooked me a home cooked meal because you thought it would cheer me up. The chicken was kinda… horrible, but it did do what it was supposed to. I felt much better knowing you and I were… great friends."

"I'm still mad at you guys," Mia turned her back on her friends and faced the wall as she continued to eat her supper.

"We're sorry if we hurt you," Kevin said. He looked at the rest of his friends, who nodded in support. "If there's anything we can do to make it up to you…"

"I think I'll finish eating in my room," Mia stood up and walked off slowly, hoping someone would say something before she was gone. She hated being mad at them, but she couldn't help it.

"We're really sorry we didn't tell you the truth," Jayden voiced. Mia turned around. Finally, someone was catching on. "Maybe… in hindsight, we should have protected your feelings by not lying."

"That's what's upset you?" Mike asked. "That we lied?"

Mia nodded her head and set her plate on the table. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her teammates, waiting for an apology.

"I guess… that was probably the most hurtful part," Kevin sighed. He looked up at Mia and felt a huge pang of guilt wash over him. He was the first to stand up, look her in the eyes and offer her a sincere and personal apology, "I'm really sorry we didn't tell you the truth right away. We should have just told you on day one that your cooking was a little… sub-par. And, I'm sorry for being part of the discussion behind your back. It was wrong and goes against everything I've been taught."

Mia smiled. Kevin was so sweet when he apologised. He always did have a big heart, and apparently he had much more courage than she initially thought. Apologising first probably wasn't the easiest thing to do.

"I'm sorry too," Emily smiled. "I shouldn't have let the guys' judgement on your food sway me in any way before I tried it for myself… and I should have been a better friend and told you instead of letting the gossip spread."

"I admire your dedication to cooking and I appreciate you wanting to look out for me and the rest of the team," Jayden nodded. "I apologise for not telling you the truth."

"I'm sorry too," Mike finished off the apologies with a shrug. "I guess it was a little insensitive to keep lying to you like that… and to go behind your back and turn your lack of skills into a game."

All eyes turned to Mia as the four Rangers waited to see if their apologies would be accepted. They could understand if, maybe, Mia wasn't ready to move on. They had betrayed her friendship. It was going to take some time.

"So… my cooking's really that bad, huh?" Mia took her seat once again and laughed.

"On the bright side, you're extremely creative," Emily chuckled and nodded. "Peanut butter and jelly omelette sounds like it could be interesting… if handled properly."

"I'll keep that in mind," Mia smirked. "I guess this means I don't have to worry about cooking for you guys anymore."

"There are other ways you can help around the house," Mike offered with a laugh, but was quickly scolded by a punch to the shoulder from Jayden and a stern look from Kevin.

"Mia's not a maid," Kevin told Mike. "She was being nice by offering to cook for us."

"I was just saying," Mike pouted as he rubbed his shoulder.

Emily turned to Mia, "Does this mean it's safe for me to sleep in our room tonight?" she asked. "I saw the way you cut up that squash with your sword when you made that meal for Kevin… it was kind of scary."

"Yeah, you're safe," Mia laughed and wrapped her arm around the yellow Ranger. Just before the Rangers could get back to their dinner, this time a less silent one, the Gap Sensor sounded.

"Not safe for very long," Mike muttered as he dropped his plate on the table, "These Nighloks are just as bad as telemarketers!"

"Come on, guys," Jayden called.


	4. Broken Confidence

"You know, I'm starting to think we should piss you off more often right before a battle," Mike chuckled to Mia as he and the other Rangers returned from their battle with the latest Nighlok. It hadn't been easy fighting in the dark, especially when the Nighlok pushed the Megazord into the power lines and caused a city-wide blackout, but the Rangers made it out alive. A little bruised, sore and there were maybe a few strains and sprains, but they were all walking home on their own.

"I'm just glad I remembered which team to fight against," Kevin nodded.

"Seriously, though," Mike continued as he took his seat. The adrenaline still coursing through his veins was going to keep him from feeling tired for the next little while. It was unlikely any of them were headed to bed. "Mia, you rocked today. That Nighlok had no idea what hit him."

"I guess I did let a bit of my anger out," Mia nodded her head. "It all worked out, though."

"Could you imagine how much sooner we would have been home if we hadn't of apologised to you, Mia?" Mike grinned before Mia shot him a look. He rubbed the back of his neck, "Although… your friendship is probably worth more than a few extra hours at home… you know…"

"Yeah, yeah," Mia chuckled, "I was just teasing you, Mike."

Jayden shook his head at his friends' playful back and forth as he walked to the wall and tried to turn on the lights.

"Seems the city hasn't restored the power yet," he said.

"We don't have generators?" Kevin asked. "How will we know if there's a Nighlok in the city?"

"The Gap Sensor will still work," Jayden assured the blue Ranger.

"Well, if there's no power and nothing to do I'm going to go to bed," Emily said softly as she began to make her way to the bedroom. Mike frowned and tilted his head. There was no way she was tired after a battle, at least, not until fatigue kicked in. With the exception of the time she passed out from exhaustion after battling the Negatron, Emily was usually still bouncing around after a battle.

"You're already tired?" he asked her. "I'm still feeling pumped."

"I kind of got my butt kicked out there," Emily sighed as she nodded her head. "I guess I'm hoping to pass out before the pain kicks in."

"We're probably all going to be sore tomorrow morning," Mia said. "Maybe we should take it easy tonight. That Nighlok wasn't easy to beat."

"You guys did a great job," Emily smiled. She pointed to her bedroom, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," her friends chorused as they watched her leave. Mike looked at her door as she closed it. He couldn't help but feel like there was a little more than fatigue going on with her. His thoughts were interrupted when Jayden placed a hand on his shoulder as he walked by.

"She took a pretty nasty hit today," he told the green Ranger. "Fighting through it must have worn her down."

"I guess," Mike turned back to the door for a moment.

"It is getting pretty late, too," Kevin added. "We're normally not out fighting Nighloks this late, and usually she's starting to fall asleep at this time."

"You're right," Mike nodded his head and clapped his hands together, "Okay then, seeing as we're even teams, why don't we pull out one of those fancy old-time games Mentor found for us? Me and Jay vs. you and Mia?"

"Sounds like fun," Mia smiled as she took her seat and reached under the table to pull out the games that had been stashed away. There were quite a few that Mentor Ji had found and while most were simple board games, several of them were challenging in the sense that they asked the players to remember old Samurai history. She decided to grab one of those. If anything was going to put her and the boys to sleep, history would definitely do it.

-Samurai-

Without even bothering to change out of her Samurai garb, Emily flopped into her bed and pressed her head into her pillow. Truth be told, she wasn't feeling very tired, she was just feeling bad about falling so quickly in battle. When the Nighlok appeared, she had been the very first to be taken out, and Jayden had to come to her rescue.

She knew she had her strengths. Against the Negatron, she was the only one who hadn't been blasted by his words. It would have made her sister proud if she could call Serena and tell her; especially considering it was Serena's advice that kept her going.

But even then, Emily hadn't defeated the Negatron on her own. Mike had to help out. And the Negatron had even said something that Emily couldn't shake. She had to in the moment in order to stop the Nighlok, but his words rang in her mind ever since.

"_You'll never be as good as your sister."_

Those words had hurt the most, and if the others had heard him say that, they would have noticed that was the point where she needed help from Mike. If he hadn't of defeated the Moogers when he did, they wouldn't have beaten the Negatron.

She knew she wasn't as good as her sister, or the others. Unlike Jayden or even Kevin, she hadn't been training for this role for most of her life. Even Mike and Mia had years of experience that she didn't possess. Her training only begun when her sister fell ill, and that was only a few years ago. She was younger, smaller, slower, and so far behind all the other Rangers and she felt like there was no way she was ever going to catch up.

When she had been training with the guys, she noticed that even Mike was improving. He wasn't up there with Kevin yet, and was even further from Jayden, but she was definitely getting the impression that he would soon be up there will both of them. And Mia was also a force to be reckoned with. She knew what she was doing on the battlefield and she was so much better than Emily could ever hope to be.

She was doing this for her sister and for her team but being a Samurai sucked.

-Samurai-

For a moment, she couldn't see or breathe. It took some time before her vision returned and she caught her breath. She knew she was on her back and flat on the ground, and she knew very well that the Earth wasn't moving anymore than it always did, but she still groaned to the four heads looking down at her.

"Please stop moving."

"Emily, are you okay?" Mia asked in an apologetic tone as she helped her sparring partner to her feet and dusted her off carefully. Emily nodded her head, though deeply regretted it. She didn't need a psychic to know there was a headache in the near future.

"I'm okay," she restated, this time without moving her head. "I'll just take a seat for a few minutes."

"I didn't want to take you down that quickly," Mia assured the young Ranger as she rushed after Emily, who was already headed for the bench beside Mentor Ji. "I thought you were going to jump and you didn't… I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Emily said. "It's my fault. I kind of spaced out for a minute."

"Are you sure you're okay, Em?" Mike asked.

"Just get me a frozen bag of peas and I'll be good to go," Emily told him, hoping he would pick up on the joking tone in her voice, though she didn't find her own joke funny. It was a little pathetic. She couldn't even last a few minutes in training against her friends who went easy on her. How did anyone expect her to be a Ranger? Mia said it herself: _"I didn't want to take you down __**that quickly**__."_

Mike rushed inside and grabbed the frozen bag of peas, which he had jokingly labelled with a post-it note to warn the other residents that this bag was for injuries only.

When he arrived back outside he handed her the bag of peas. Emily thanked him, shrugged her shoulders and lazily flopped the bag on her head as she watched her friends regroup and reshuffle the teams.

"At least Mia will be able to train with someone more experienced," Emily muttered to Mentor Ji. He looked at her curiously.

"You are Mia's training partner. Jayden and I have discussed the pairing strategies long before any of you arrived here."

"Yeah," Emily said, "I'm just saying, the only way to get better is to train with someone better, right? Mia's never going to learn anything if she's stuck with me most of the time."

"Mia is a great Samurai, but she still has much to learn. You all have much to learn."

"Some more than others," Emily mumbled. She turned back to the training grounds and watched as her friends decided to do a two-on-two exercise. She couldn't make out who the teams were exactly, but she had a funny feeling it was Kevin and Mia against Jayden and Mike.

The training went on until there were only two men left on the field. Kevin and Jayden. Of course, Emily could have predicted that. They were the best. They never let anything get in the way of their final task. Jayden had been trained by Mentor Ji since he was a child, and Kevin wasn't far behind at all.

Mia and Mike were sitting on the ground, watching the two spar and enjoying a few laughs. They hadn't lost against each other, but had rather tired themselves out and needed a break. Emily could hear the green and pink Rangers taunting each other playfully, poking at the other's mistakes and misjudgements as well as praising the other's strengths.

She glanced down at the bag of peas, which was now resting in her lap. She poked the bag in hopes that would entertain her until the end of the training session. Suddenly, something blocked her light. She looked up and saw Jayden standing over her.

"That's still a little cold, right?" he asked as he held out his hand. Emily nodded and handed him the bag.

"Did you hurt yourself?"

"Kevin managed to get past my guard, this time," Jayden turned to the blue Samurai with an amused look. "It won't happen again."

"I couldn't have done it without my team," Kevin chuckled as he waved over to Mia and Mike, who were giggling in the background.

"We tripped him," Mike explained.

Jayden placed the bag of peas on his shoulder. He hated to admit defeat, but he did recognise that his team was getting stronger. And he couldn't deny the surprise attack was a smart move. Teamwork was a handy skill on the battlefield and it was key that the group be able to work together. It was one of the reasons Mentor Ji pulled out all the board games. The stronger the bond between friends, the more likely they were to work as a team.

"Who's ready for lunch?" Mia asked as she got to her feet and brushed off her pants.

"Uh…"

"I'm not cooking," Mia quickly added.

"Pizza!" Mike pumped his fist in the air and he turned to Mentor Ji. The older man shook his head. Pizza was not on the list of healthy foods and was never going to be added, no matter how many items from the four food groups were added."

"Crust, cheese, pepperoni and mushrooms," Mike pleaded, "C'mon, Mentor, you know you want a pizza…"

"If you don't fit inside the spandex anymore, it's not my problem," Mentor Ji sighed as he turned to get started on the Rangers' lunch. Mike grinned happily as he too walked inside, followed by Kevin and Mia.

Emily got up from the bench and turned to the door, but she felt something cold hit her arm. She turned and saw Jayden giving her the frozen peas back.

"This does help," he nodded, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Emily said. "How does your shoulder feel?"

"I've had worse. I usually just put ice on it, though. The peas fit better."

"That's why I use them," Emily smiled.

"How does your head feel?"

"It's fine. I have a hard head," Emily nodded. "My sister used to joke about me never needing a helmet because it was so hard."

"Next time, try to keep your focus on the fight," Jayden offered his advice kindly. "You never know what your opponent's going to do next. If you focus, you'll be able to better sense his attacks."

"We covered this with Mike, remember?" Emily forced a laugh.

"I'm just reminding you. If this had been a real fight, we could have lost you. On the battlefield, as much as we try to stick together, ultimately, you're on your own. Help might not always come, and we won't be able to pause and wait for you to pull yourself out. Any Mooger or Nighlok would have taken you out."

"Comforting…" Emily frowned as she glanced down at her feet.

Curious as to why neither Emily nor Jayden had come inside, Mike walked over to the door to see what was keeping them. He stopped when he noticed they were standing outside talking. Leaning against the doorframe, he watched for a moment. He had noticed that Emily had been acting a little strange since their fight the previous night, and he was starting to think her behaviour hadn't changed. He listened as the red and yellow Rangers continued their conversation.

"This is why we train though, Emily," Jayden explained. "We work on our weaknesses in here so they don't hurt us out there. Now you know that the life of a samurai requires total focus."

"I always knew that," Emily bit her lip, "I'm just not feeling well. I… uh… my wrist was keeping me up last night so I didn't get much sleep."

"I thought you said it was just a little sprain?" Jayden frowned. He glanced at her wrist curiously. It hadn't been bandaged for a while now, and Emily hadn't brought it up to him since the day the injury happened.

Emily rubbed her wrist, "You know how some injuries are. On and off…"

"Right," Jayden nodded.

Mike stepped out, already with an excuse to interrupt, "Uh, Mentor wants to know what you want on your pizza, Em."

Emily nodded and rushed inside. Mike waited for her to reach the kitchen before he turned to Jayden. He stepped outside and closed the door, not wanting anyone to accidentally overhear him.

"Take it easy on her, Jay," he said. "She's just a kid."

"It was just some friendly pointers," Jayden said with a shrug. "I didn't mean anything by it. We all have some days where we don't perform to the best of our abilities."

"Do you mind if we switch up partners next time?" Mike asked. "Mia and Kevin can train together and I'll work with Emily."

"We have the partners for a reason."

"Blah, blah, I know," Mike nodded. "Look, she was first to fall last night, and today she goes down in five minutes. Emily might just need something a little easier to get back into the swing of things. It'll only be a few days, and we are due for a change anyways, right?"

Jayden just sighed, "Alright."

"Sweet. Thanks, Jayden."


	5. Crushed

Kevin searched the room, holding a cookbook in his hand. He was still feeling badly for his part in ruining Mia's passion for cooking and wanted to make it up to her. He figured he could do so by helping her improve her skills.

He saw Jayden sitting in the common room and frowned. Jayden was on his own, reading a book.

"Have you seen Mia?"

Jayden looked up and nodded, "Bedroom."

"Thanks," Kevin turned and made his way to the girls' bedroom. He knocked. He didn't want to open the door without permission. Not when he was unsure of what Mia was doing inside her bedroom. She could have been with Emily having a girl's day.

"Come in."

He opened the door and held up the cookbook, "Mike and I just came back from getting the groceries and we saw this near the register. We figured you might like it."

"Thanks," Mia nodded as Kevin walked over and gave her the book. She quickly skimmed through it, "I can give it a look later."

"Mentor's okay with us making dinner tonight," Kevin told her nervously. "I uh… I figured I could help you. You know, give you a few pointers I picked up from cooking my own meals."

"Meals for your perfectionist diet?" Emily asked with a chuckle. Kevin glared at her for a moment before turning back to Mia and waiting for her answer.

Mia nodded her head, "That sounds cool, Kevin. Thanks a lot."

"I'll see you later, then," Kevin smirked and blushed as he left the room. Mia gently brushed the cover of the book with her fingers and couldn't contain the smile that was creeping on her lips. Emily nudged her.

"So, why do I get the feeling you don't care whether you learn how to cook or not?"

"What do you mean?" Mia frowned as she turned to look at Emily. The yellow Ranger shrugged knowingly.

"Quality time cooking with Kevin."

"What?"

"The kitchen's going to be hot…"

"Shut up!" Mia squealed and shoved Emily off the bed. The yellow Ranger crashed onto the ground and landed flat on her back, but found it was worth it. She got to her knees and rested her arms and head on the side of the bed.

"You and Kevin sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes…"

"Emily," Mia cried again, afraid Emily's voice was loud enough for the guys to hear on the other side of the door.

"Admit it and I'll stop pestering you," Emily giggled. Mia glared at her younger friend.

"I don't love Kevin…" Mia blushed as she looked away from Emily, avoiding the earth Samurai's stare. "Okay so… he's kind of cute. But even you can't deny he's cute."

"They're all cute," Emily nodded her head. "But you think Kevin's more than cute. You love…"

"It's not love," Mia said. "Okay… can you keep a secret?"

"You love him?"

"I like him," Mia nodded. "I like him a little more than Mike and Jayden and if he were to ask me out on a real date, I would say yes. But I don't love him. That's something different."

"Yahuh," Emily jumped back on the bed, "Why don't you ask him out?"

"Have you ever had a boyfriend?" Mia frowned. "Girls don't ask guys on dates… not when they aren't sure. I mean… what if he says no?"

"Why would he say no?" Emily asked and tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "You're beautiful, Mia and smart, and funny and amazing. You're a great samurai and a great person."

Mia couldn't help but blush at Emily's compliments. Her fingers grazed over the book Kevin gave her and she smiled.

"Thanks, Emy," she nodded her head.

"I mean it."

"Well, they may be older but do you have a crush on any of the boys?" Mia hoped she could turn to the topic onto Emily before she turned into the red Ranger. That would be hard to explain to Jayden, and even harder to explain to Kevin.

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "Um… I don't know. I guess not."

"Why not, Em?" Mia frowned. "You said it yourself, they are all cute. There's got to be someone who caught your eye. Even a little bit? Even Kevin; don't be afraid to say so."

"Kevin's great, but he's kind of like a big brother or something," Emily shrugged. "Same with Jayden…"

"So Mike?"

Emily shook her head, "It doesn't matter. He probably doesn't feel the same way. I'm too young for any of the guys."

"I guess," Mia nodded and Emily's heart sunk. She believed it, but she was hoping Mia would tell her that age didn't really matter. A little reinforcement would have helped. "Maybe in a few years something will happen."

"Maybe," Emily sighed. "That's why I'm saying. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who I like. I'm just a kid."

"You're a cute kid, Em," Mia smiled. "Don't worry about rushing in to anything."

"I figured as much."

-Samurai-

"Did you ask her?" Mike asked the blue Ranger as he returned from putting the groceries away in the kitchen. Kevin nodded his head with a smile.

"Yeah. She thought it was a cool idea. We're going to make something from the book for dinner tonight. I'm sure I don't need to tell you guys to be honest with how it turns out."

"So, you're giving me permission to be brutally honest?" Mike grinned. "Sweet."

"Just remember, Mia may be able to handle the truth, but her reaction depends on how you break the news to her," Jayden reminded Mike. "If you're cruel, she's react negatively."

"Exactly," Kevin nodded. "Please be honest but nice. Don't pick on the little details."

"Got it," Mike smirked. "But you better make something good. Something we like… you should make."

"We'll make what Mia wants to make," Kevin interrupted. "We might as well do something she's interested in."

"You're so wrapped in this… in Mia," Mike grinned. "You're determined to make her feel better about this."

"Hey, we can't have a Ranger with a bruised ego on the team," Kevin shrugged. "I feel bad for lying to her."

"We all feel bad," Jayden added but Mike placed his hand on his leader's shoulder and gave him a knowing look.

"Yes, but Kevin feels _really_ bad."

"Oh," Jayden grinned and turned to Kevin, "You feel _really _bad because you _really_ like Mia."

"I do… not," Kevin shook his head. "Right now we need to focus on defeating the Nighloks and keeping them from flooding the earth. I can't focus on relationships. Anyways, it would be too dangerous."

"Yeah, sure," Mike nodded, "How about you leave the anal code of the Samurai to Jayden and just let loose a little? Between your crazy diet, your oh-so-serious training routine and your inability to admit that maybe love can arise even when you're supposed to be commited to the end of the world your turning into some old samurai Mentor. And not in a good way."

"You sound like you're talking from experience," Jayden smirked as he looked up at Mike.

"I just… you know," Mike shrugged, "I respect the way of the samurai but this is the 21st century. Honour's great and all, but if someone's in love or something, they should act out on it. You shouldn't have to hold out just because you have a world to save, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, so who's the lucky girl?" Kevin smirked, hoping to take the light off himself.

Mike shrugged his shoulders, "No one. I'm just saying…"

Jayden furrowed his brow for a moment and turned back to Mike, "Wait a minute…"

"There's no one!"

"You like…"

"No, I don't."

"The way you're always helping…"

"No."

"Who are we talking about?" Kevin asked; finish it hard to follow Jayden due to Mike's interruptions.

"Emily," Jayden smirked until he was knocked off his seat by Mike.

"Emily?" Kevin frowned. Mike turned, hearing the less than enthusiastic tone in Kevin's voice.

"Why do you say it like that?" he asked. Kevin shrugged his shoulders.

"I mean… There's the huge gap… right?"

"What gap?" Mike frowned. "What do you mean?"

Jayden pondered Kevin's side for a moment and realised his blue Ranger had a point. There was an age gap between Mike and Emily, and while Jayden didn't believe that age should play an important role in who you fall in love with, he had to draw the line somewhere.

"Actually," Jayden shook his head, "Yesterday, when you were talking to me about you… you called her a kid."

"You've called her squirt, too," Kevin added. "Isn't that weird?"

"No," Mike grumbled. "It's not weird because I don't like Emily."

"Yeah, sure," Kevin nodded, "Whatever you say. I'm going to get the kitchen ready for tonight.


	6. Kevin and Mia's Dinner

"So you see," Kevin carefully placed the chicken inside the oven and closed the door. He set the timer and turned to Mia, "all foods generally have a set time on how long they take to prepare, and that time depends on how hot you set your oven. Most cookbooks tell you exactly what you need to know, so you just have to follow along."

Mia noted while never taking her eyes off the cookbook. She had never used one because her mother and grandmother had always told her that cookbooks were for idiots who didn't know how to cook. Little did they know that description fit them perfectly. Mia was going to have a lot to tell them when she returned home. And she was going to have some real meals to bring to her family, as well as a few questions on how no one ever realised that there was not a single decent cook in the family.

"That makes sense," she said. "I always just cooked stuff until I smelt it burning. I thought that was when it was hot enough to take out."

"We've all noticed," Kevin chuckled. He leaned against the counter and looked at Mia, "Now, everything else is set up, the chicken's in the oven… do you have any questions?"

"Who cleans the kitchen?" Mia smirked.

"Well, we have a little bit of time before the chicken needs to come out," Kevin turned to the oven and checked the timer. "We'll need to keep an eye on it in case something happens. I guess there's nothing else for us to do except clean."

Mia closed the cookbook and set it down on the table. She reached for the sink and grabbed the sponge to clean off the mess from the counter while Kevin started to put the leftover ingredients and the cooking tools away.

Mia collected the crumbs from the counter in the palm of her hand and walked over to the garbage, which was sitting just beside Kevin. A grin appeared on her face as she looked down at the crumbs in her hand, and then up at Kevin. She lifted her hand up to her mouth and blew.

"Ah! Mia!"

Mia chuckled and clapped her hands together, dusting of whatever crumbs were stuck to her hands, "I couldn't help it. It was way too easy."

"I hope you know you're sweeping the floor now," Kevin chuckled as he spit out the crumbs that found their way into his mouth. He looked at Mia who shrugged.

"I guess you could leave it on the floor for someone else to sweep. Isn't it Mike's week anyways? We've got to make sure there's something for him to do or he'll get bored."

"You're a little evil, you know that, right?"

Mia nodded, "Of course I know that. How else am I supposed to keep you three boys in check?"

"Do you really need to keep us in check?" Kevin asked. "I think we're all capable of taking care of ourselves."

"For the most part," Mia smirked.

"Help me with the stuff," Kevin chuckled as he shook his head. Mia put down the sponge and grabbed the spices to put them away. The blue and pink Ranger worked in silence until the chicken timer went off and they both turned to the oven.

"You should pull it out and make sure it's done," Kevin instructed Mia, "Here's the thermometer."

"Thanks," Mia smiled. She slipped on the oven mitts and opened the door to the oven. A wave of heat escaped, almost knocking her back, but as soon as it cooled, Mia was back inside. She pulled the chicken from the oven and closed the door while she checked the temperature.

"How is it?" Kevin asked.

"It's perfect," Mia nodded as the timer dinged, indicating that the chicken was good to eat. She turned off the oven and spun around to face Kevin. He was standing right behind her.

"Before you call the others for dinner, let me just make sure…" he ripped a piece off from the chicken and put it in his mouth. He chewed slowly, making sure to get a good taste of the food. His eyes widened in awe. This was the most amazing chicken he had ever tasted. "Mia... this is…"

"Be honest," Mia cringed, "I can handle it."

"This is… wow," Kevin had to admit to being a little biased. This chicken was special. He had cooked it with Mia while meant a little alone time with the girl who made his heart skip a beat. But he did know good food when he ate it, and this was good, no, awesome.

"Good wow or bad wow?"

"Good… amazing wow," Kevin smiled. "You should be proud when you serve this to the others."

"Seriously? You're not lying?"

"Definitely not," Kevin nodded his head. "Why would I lie anyways? Emily can't swallow your food when it tastes bad. It would be a dead giveaway. And you did get help from _me_, after all…"

"You," Mia chuckled as she swatted Kevin for his overconfident attitude.

"Seriously, Mia, this is good. The guys are all going to want seconds and thirds."

Mia bit her lip and smiled, "Thanks. Would you mind serving it while I get the others in here?"

"I think you should have the honours of serving the chicken," Kevin said. He walked past her, "I'll be back in a few minutes with the others."

-Samurai-

While Kevin was busy helping Mia prepare her first meal, Jayden, Mike and Emily were sitting in the common room passing the time. Jayden was meditating, as he usually did when he was nervous (Mia's cooking upset his stomach even before it passed his gums), and Mike was taking up the TV and showing off his video game skills to Emily.

"I win again," he grinned as his screen flashed the word WINNER. He looked over at Emily. Her screen was a little less optimistic, bearing the word LOSER.

"That's ten times in a row," Emily frowned. She put down her controller, "Face it, Mike, you're never going to be able to teach me how to block that move."

"It's just like real life."

"I wish," Emily shook her head, "In real life you don't block after hitting a series of buttons. You do it after breaking your neck hundreds of times and learning that maybe it would be a good idea not to get hit.

"I mean it takes practice," Mike chuckled, "You'll figure it out. Anyways, I've been gaming since… well since I was in diapers."

"Yeah, experience…" Emily sighed. She got up and walked to the game station before turning it off. She could smell the chicken cooking and if Kevin was doing a good job teaching Mia; it would soon be time to pull the bird out of the oven. She figured there wouldn't be enough time for a game.

"I'm going to wash up before they tell us to come for dinner," Jayden announced as he got up and left the room. Emily sat on her stool and let out another sigh. Mike looked at her.

"Em, it's just a game. It's not like it's realistic at all. Do you think anyone would be able to jump that high without the Ranger spandex on?"

"I guess not…"

"Exactly. So just forget about it and smile. Anyways, it's about time I manage to kick your ass in something. Every time we play a game you always beat me. Even when we play teams, you're always carrying my dead weight."

"When Serena got sick all I could do with her was play board games," Emily whispered. "She usually beat me, but she would always give me pointers and I would improve… well, improve to the point where I wouldn't lose by much."

"It must have sucked living in her shadow all the time," Mike said. "I always wanted a sibling. Someone to play with. I thought it was so cool to live with one of your friends. But I guess there were downsides to it."

Emily nodded her head, "Serena always told me I could do anything I set my heart too. But I'll never be as good as her."

"What do you mean?" Mike asked. "You managed to become a Power Ranger. She couldn't accomplish that."

"She couldn't accomplish it because she got sick," Emily looked away. "If she hadn't of gotten sick, I wouldn't be here and you guys wouldn't…"

"We wouldn't what?" before Mike could get an answer Kevin stepped in.

"Dinner's ready, and I'm not lying when I tell you it's going to be the best thing you've ever tasted."

"Why don't you let us be the judge of that," Emily said. She quickly got up and rushed into the kitchen, before Mike could ask her again about what she was going to say.

Mike groaned as he too got up. Now he was positive there was something bothering Emily. Hopefully he could flush it out of her before she beat herself up over it.

The Rangers sat around the table and waited for Jayden to arrive before they dug in. Everything tasted great. The vegetables, the potatoes and especially the chicken.

"I might never want to go home to my mother's cooking again," Mike commented as he shovelled another mouthful down his throat. Jayden wasn't sure if the green Ranger was actually chewing the food.

"You know, Mike, it would taste even better if it actually touched your taste buds."

"You might be right," Mike nodded and reached for the plate of chicken and the vegetables, "I should try some more and test our that theory. Anyone mind if I finish off the…"

"Yes," the others all nodded and Mike pouted, having to settle with a smaller portion of seconds.

"Like Mike's demonstrating," Jayden chuckled as he turned to Mia after grabbing his fair serving of seconds, "the food is amazing, Mia. Who knew a little cookbook could do wonders?"

"I can't take all the credit," Mia smirked and looked at Kevin, "I just did what I was told. Kevin was the one figuring out the recipe and all that."

"Still, this is definitely an improvement over the last," Jayden smiled.

"And Emily's swallowing it," Kevin nodded to Emily. The yellow Ranger looked up.

"This is good, Mia."

"Thanks Em."

Mike watched his yellow friend as he picked at the small portion of food left on his plate. He knew there was something bothering her and he wanted the chance to talk to her. It was unlikely she was going to spill with everyone around. He needed to get her alone.

"Hey, you know, I think the chicken's changing me," he grinned, "I actually feel like thanking you and Kevin for this awesome meal by doing the dishes."

"Really?" Mia asked a little surprised. Mike never volunteered to do extra work. He stuck to his own chores and that was it. Occasionally he would help someone out, but he never took on more than what was expected from him.

"Yeah," Mike grinned, "As long as someone helps me dry the dishes."

He looked over at Jayden, full-well knowing that Mentor had asked for Jayden after dinner to discuss tomorrow's training, but he hoped his could hide his motives by asking Jayden for help first, "Jay, think you could help me?"

"I would," Jayden nodded, "But Mentor's waiting for me. I'll do an extra share tomorrow to make up for it. The meal was amazing, Mia. Stick to the recipes and you'll be the house chef when Mentor's too tired to cook."

Mike turned to Emily, "Think you can help me out?"

"I… uh…" Emily paused. There was no valid excuse for her to skip the dishes; at least, none that wouldn't raise suspicion. She nodded her head, "Yeah, sure."

"Sweet!" Mike grabbed Kevin and Jayden's plates and stacked them on his own before walking to the sink. Emily thanked Mia and Kevin again for the meal as she collected Mia's plate and her own and joined Mike.

As Mia got up from her seat, she felt she had to thank Kevin again for all his help. His advice and his tips were going to come in handy. She wasn't sure she was ready to handle the kitchen on her own yet, but at least she knew that there was a specific way to cook everything, and that a burning smell meant that the food was burning, not that it was done.

"Thank you so much for all your help," Mia thanked him as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Kevin returned the gesture.

"No problem. It's my way of making up for lying to you."

"You didn't have to. An apology was enough, you know."

"I know," Kevin nodded, "I just don't like knowing I've hurt you… or the others," he added quickly. "It makes me feel bad…"

"Still, it was very nice of you," Mia smiled and gave Kevin a quick peck on the cheek. She turned away from his quickly, before he saw her blush, and rushed out into the common room to find something to keep herself busy.

Kevin watched her leave and touched his cheek, right where she kissed him. He could feel himself turning red and had to leave the room before Mike or Emily noticed.

Unfortunately for him, they did. Mike let out a chuckle.

"They're so clueless," he shook his head while he laughed. "If only they would just come out and say they like each other."

"What do you mean?" Emily asked. She knew Mia liked Kevin, but she wasn't sure if Kevin returned those feelings. Mike looked at Emily as he handed her a plate to dry.

"Don't tell him I told you, but Kevin's crushing madly on our pink Ranger," he whispered. "The only thing is he won't admit it. Not to me or Jayden… I don't even think he knows it yet."

"He really likes Mia?" Emily asked.

Mike nodded, "A man knows when his friend likes a girl. And after all, who wouldn't like Mia?"

"No one," Emily said. She finished with the plate and put it aside just in time to grab the next clean dish.

"Anyways, I'm not here to talk about Mia," Mike said. "You still haven't answered my question."

Emily frowned and turned away from Mike, "What question?"

"You were talking about your sister and you said that if she were here, 'we wouldn't be' and then you stopped. What were you about to say?"

"I don't remember."

"C'mon, Em…"

"The less I talk about my sister, the less I'm reminded about her, okay?" Emily said. "It's hard enough not knowing if her condition is getting better or worse, I don't need to…"

"Need to what?" Mike asked when Emily paused again. The yellow Ranger shook her head and suddenly all her attention was on drying the cup in her hands. Mike put the sponge and the fork down in the sink and turned to her, but Emily didn't respond. She just rubbed the towel against the glass cup. Mike asked again, "You don't need to what, Emily?"

Suddenly, the glass shattered in Emily's hand. The yellow Ranger jumped and dropped the broken shards of glass, as well as the towel, onto the floor. She leaned over to clean it up, but soon felt Mike's hands on her arms. The forest samurai pulled her back up gently and looked her in the eyes.

"Emily, you know you can tell me anything. I may put my foot in my mouth, but the last thing I ever want to do is judge or hurt you guys."

"I need to clean this up…"

"It can wait," Mike whispered. "Emily…"

"I'm not good enough, okay?" Emily let out. "I can fight bad-mouthing monsters no problem, but I'll never be as good as Serena would have been. I can't even train properly…"

"Em…"

Suddenly, the door to the kitchen opened and Mia poked her head in, "Hey, when you guys are done we were going to watch a movie. Is there anything you would like to watch?"

Again, Emily used the interruption to flee. She pulled herself free from Mike and hurried out of the kitchen, racing right past Mia as she did. The pink Ranger watched and noticed the tears forming in the young girl's eyes as she ran past. She turned to Mike.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing, I…"

Mia didn't stick around to hear his explanation. She chased after Emily and made it inside their bedroom before Emily could slam the door in her face. Mike walked out of the kitchen and ran his hand through his hair. Kevin turned to him.

"Mike…"

"I didn't… it wasn't…" he groaned, walked over to the couch and flopped down, "Never mind… I guess I did do it."


	7. Epiphany

Mia stood by the door, unsure of how to approach this situation. In the few months she had been a samurai, she had, in a way, adopted Emily as a sort-of-sister, but Mia didn't know the first thing about actually taking care of a little sister. She could play the big sister role when it meant stopping fights or easing fears or inspiring self-esteem and confidence, but she didn't know how to pick up the pieces.

She watched as Emily crawled into bed and grabbed a yellow stuffed ape; the same stuffed ape her sister had given her before she left. It was the only thing Emily truly cherished in this house, but at the same time, this was the only time Mia had seen Emily holding it so tightly.

"What did he do?" she asked the yellow Ranger as she walked closer to the girl's bed. Emily shrugged.

"He didn't really do anything," she turned away from Mia before the Wind Samurai noticed the tears. "We were just doing the dishes and I broke one of them. That's when you came in."

"Why don't I believe you?" Mia asked softly as she took a seat beside her fellow female Ranger. She nudged Emily, "There's more to it, I know there is. You can trust me."

"I don't want to talk about it," Emily shook her head. "You can go watch your movie with Kevin. I don't care. I just want to be alone."

"As tempting as that is, I don't think I would be able to enjoy the movie. Not when I know there's something bothering you."

"Nothing's bothering me."

"Emy…"

"Fine," Emily placed her ape back beside her pillow and forced a smile for Mia's sake. She got up from the bed and walked to the door, "We'll both go watch the movie with the guys."

Mia groaned inwardly as Emily opened the door and walked out. She could see the surprised look on Kevin's face. He hadn't been expecting Emily to come out of her room so quickly.

The yellow Ranger took her seat and waited for Mia to join. Mike had disappeared somewhere after retelling his perspective of the events to Kevin and getting a long talk on him getting too close to Emily too fast. Kevin stood by his beliefs that Emily was just a kid. He wanted her to be part of the team. He knew it was important that she was treated as an equal member. But socially and when they weren't Rangers, he assumed everyone needed to remember that she was only sixteen years old. He didn't like how Mike was trying to worm his way in, and had, in a way, accused Mike of taking advantage. This caused Mike to leave.

Mia walked over and sat down beside Kevin, who had moved the stools closer together against the wall to form a couch. To make things a little more comfortable, he found pillows and placed them against the wall as well.

When Mia was in her seat, Kevin started the DVD. He had chosen something family friendly; something with a good message, a strong plot, and a lot of humour.

Emily seemed to be enjoying herself while the movie played, but Kevin and Mia knew this wasn't a fix. Kevin leaned in closer to Mia.

"Either you're really good at the whole feel-better thing, or Emily's stubborn."

"She wouldn't say a word," Mia shook her head and whispered, "I don't think it's got anything to do with Mike."

"Mike told me what happened," Kevin said. "His version, at least. He thinks there's something bothering Emily and he wants to help her out. He says he feels like he knows her best and she'll open up to him better than anyone else."

"Why does he think that?" Mia frowned. "I share a room with her. I train with her."

"I don't know," Kevin shrugged. "All I know is we don't really know Mike that much. All we know is that he likes to play his own game. He's usually got his own agenda and he doesn't care who he steps on. He was the one who used your bad cooking to give himself a good time."

"I don't get it," Mia turned to Kevin.

"It's just… Mike and Emily… Emily and Mike…"

"You don't think…?"

"Mike's in denial," Kevin nodded, "Either that, or he's playing a role to keep me and Jayden calm. The guy's one of my best friends, I would never say anything bad about him, but…"

"You don't have to say anything," Mia said. "I was thinking the same…"

Mia suddenly jumped and closed her eyes as the cartoon shark swam across the screen, bearing his teeth. She hid her face in Kevin's shoulder.

"Tell me when it's over!"

Both Kevin and Emily turned to her with a perplexed look. Emily pointed to the screen.

"It's Finding Nemo."

"I hate sharks."

"It's a cartoon," Kevin grinned. "One of the best. My dad used to get me to watch it when I felt like giving up. He always told me: where would Nemo be if he or his father gave up?"

"A fish tank in Australia," Emily answered. "Or, if that little brat got her hands on him, he would be back in the ocean, belly up."

"I hate sharks," Mia repeated and grabbed onto Kevin for safety. He chuckled, shook his head and wrapped his arm around her protectively while the shark chased after Marlin and Dory. It was a very scary scene, for a two-year old maybe, but Kevin didn't mind. After all, he liked holding Mia and he loved that she felt safe with him.

-Samurai-

_Something's bothering her, I know it,_ Mike pondered as he walked through the halls. He didn't want to see anyone at this point, not if they were going to accuse him of putting his foot in his mouth and hurting one of his friends again. He would never do something that stupid, not intentionally.

He thought he had earned their respect. He thought they were finally starting to realise that there was more to him than video games, jokes and skateboarding. He wanted to be a Samurai, and he loved being a Ranger. When it came down to it, he knew he would always make the right decision: the decision to protect the world and his friends.

But he couldn't even be friends with the yellow Ranger without the others breathing down his neck. It was crazy. All he wanted was to help her out. He knew she was worried about her sister. He knew she constantly felt like she was living in her shadow. He knew all these things about her and he knew he could help. She just wasn't opening up and letting him help.

It didn't help that the others kept interrupting.

_She was about to tell me_, Mike kicked the wall, a little too forcefully, and hurt his foot. He hissed inwardly and started bouncing until he reached a door frame. He leaned against it and rubbed his foot until a sound caught his ears. Ignoring the pain in his foot, he walked over and saw Kevin, Mia and Emily enjoying a movie. Mia and Kevin were cuddling together on the couch and every time the shark appeared on the screen, Mia would move in even closer to Kevin and he would hold her. Mike was going to remember this next time Kevin tried to use the "duty before self" excuse to step around his crush on Mia. He knew the blue Ranger was enjoying her closeness.

He then turned to Emily, sitting alone on her stool. His expression softened as he watched her. If she wasn't going to open up to him, he was going to figure out what was bothering her. There had to be something he was missing. Something she said.

"_I guess trying to fill my sister's shoes has brought back some of my insecurities."_

"_If we ever beat the Nighloks and Master Xandred."_

"_I got my butt kicked out there. I guess I'm just hoping to pass out before the pain kicks in."_

"_You guys__did a great job."_

"_She usually beat me, but she would always give me pointers and I would improve… well, improve to the point where I wouldn't lose by much."_

"_Serena always told me I could do anything I set my heart too. But I'll never be as good as her."_

Mike let out a deep sigh. He knew what was bothering Emily. It was clear as day to him now.

He turned away and walked off without a word. Now that he knew what the problem was he could work on fixing it without her knowing he had figured her out. He just needed to find a way.

On his way back to his room, he walked by Jayden's room and overheard Jayden and Ji talking. Curiosity got the better of him and he leaned in to listen. If they were talking about tomorrow's training, he could use the night to think about how he could help Emily. He was her training partner after all.

"I think it's obvious who should get the Swordfish," he heard Jayden tell Master Ji. "Kevin's worked hard for it."

"There is definitely a connection between Kevin and the swordfish," Ji agreed. "Of course, the tiger belongs to you, Jayden."

"There's just a matter of choosing a candidate for the beetle," Jayden said. "We need to pick one of the three."

"I don't feel Emily is ready to pilot the Samurai Battle Wing," when Mike heard Mentor Ji saying this his fists clenched. Emily was very capable of doing anything. She had proven that when she fought the Negatron. Mike believed in her, but it was no wonder she didn't believe in herself. Her Mentor didn't even believe in her.

"That leaves Mia and Mike," Jayden continued. "I think both of them are more than ready to handle the responsibility."

"They are," Mentor Ji seemed to agree and Mike felt a sense of pride for himself. At least he was getting some recognition. He had been working very hard as of late and had even bested Kevin a few times. That on its own was enough of an accomplishment. It wasn't easy to do, "But one Samurai has been showing a lot of potential lately. I feel it deserves to be rewarded."

Mike grinned for not only did it sound like he would be given the honour of possessing the beetle Zord, but he also had an idea for how to help Emily. All his hard work was paying off. If Emily wanted to improve as well, he was going to teach her.

But first, he wanted that beetle.


	8. Mike's Mistake

The meeting had been called. Usually team meetings were done after a very serious training session or after a battle and the Rangers would discuss what had happened and how they could keep mistakes from happening again.

This meeting came from out of the blue for most of the Rangers. Jayden knew because he had discussed the contents of the meeting with Mentor Ji the night before. Mike only knew because he had been eavesdropping on Jayden and Ji's conversation. He couldn't help but feel pumped for the announcement.

Mentor Ji was the last to walk in. He laid out the three power disk on the table and walked over to the bookcase to grab an ancient book. As he walked back to join the Rangers he opened the book.

"Now that we've recovered three of the lost disk, we have a new power at our disposal," he explained while he opened the book.

"Beetle, swordfish and tiger," Jayden named off the power disks as he pointed to each of them, "Together, these power disks allow us to form the Samurai Battle Wing."

Mentor Ji turned the book around to show the Rangers and image of a bird, the bird that the three new Zords would create once they were assembled together. All jaws dropped in awe.

"That looks like one powerful bird," Mike commented.

"Yes, thanks to these disks," Mentor nodded his head, "So each one has to go to the person we believe is truly ready to help pilot the Battle Wing."

"I'll keep the tiger Zord," Jayden said and everyone nodded in agreement. The tiger Zord belonged to the red Ranger, that much was obvious.

"The swordfish," Mentor started as Jayden got to his feet and grabbed the blue power disk, "Goes to Kevin, who caught it and therefore has a connection with it."

Kevin beamed with pride as he accepted the Swordfish power disk. He had worked long and hard to capture that fish, and while he wouldn't have minded too much if it had been assigned to someone else, he felt it was only right that it remained with him.

Jayden then reached down for the beetle disk and Mike looked up with a smirk. Once he got his prize for all his hard work, he could talk to Emily and possibly encourage her to train hard to catch up with all the others. She was a few years younger and had much less experience because she was a substitute Ranger. However, that didn't mean that a little hard work couldn't bump her up and make her feel like she more than deserved this position. Mike already believed she was here for a reason. It was sad her sister was sick, but fate had a funny way of working things out.

"We've decided that the beetle," as Ji said this Mike wanted to stand up and accept the beetle Zord.

"Should go to Mia," Jayden finished for Ji. He passed the beetle disk over to Mia; his hand stretching right passed Mike.

Mia was taken completely off guard as she took the power disk. It was a huge honour and a lot of responsibility. She knew she was a good Samurai, but she was humble enough to admit that she was nowhere near ready to harness the power of the beetle or the Samurai Battle Wing, even with the two best samurais, Jayden and Kevin, assisting her.

"We trust your control and your symbol power the most," Mentor Ji explained as he noted the confused look on Mia's face. He was hoping she would be a lot more grateful when she heard she had been chosen over the others, "And we know you'll do the difficult work that's needed to master this disk."

Mike didn't hear a word of Ji's reasoning as he looked down at his hands, currently balled into fists. He did everything he could to keep from lunging at Mia and ripping the disk from her hands. She was a very capable samurai, but he was working hard, much harder than Mia. He thought Ji, or at least Jayden, had noticed.

And, to make matter worse, there was no way he could follow through on his plan to help Emily, if he couldn't attest for the power of practice and confidence. He had nothing to show for all his hard work.

He felt like he had let her down. Once the meeting was over, he rushed out of his seat and headed outside. He was going to earn that beetle, one way or another. He was going to do everything he could to show Emily that if he could make himself count in the team, she would have no problem.

-Samurai-

A few hours into training, Mike was interrupted when he saw Emily stepping outside. He put his sword down as she walked over. He could use a break.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked him. She noticed he had been training really hard and wanted to know what had caused the sudden desire to outwork even Jayden. Mike usually wasn't the kind to put in any extra effort when it wasn't required.

"It's not fair," Mike breathed. Emily grabbed the towel from the nearby bench and handed it to him so he could dry himself off.

"Jayden, Kevin and Mia really deserved those power disks," Emily said. "They're all very good and they've been working hard."

"I've been working hard," Mike grunted. "You've been working hard. It's not fair that Mentor has to single us out like that."

"I don't think that's what he meant," Emily said softly as she looked to the ground. Mike immediately regretted his words. He wanted to make her feel better, not worse.

"I just don't get it," he sighed. "Why couldn't the Samurai Battle Wing require five Zords instead of three?"

"It kind of makes you feel like you're not as good as the others, doesn't it?" Emily asked Mike. He looked at her and nodded. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him in a comforting hug. "You're an amazing samurai, Mike. You're just a little different from what Ji expected from you, I guess. When he sees that, I'm sure he'll rethink the holders of the power disks… or he'll give you the next one!"

"I'm going to make sure that happens," Mike said. He picked up his sword and smiled at Emily, "Do you want to join me? We can train together. Maybe you can give me a few pointers?"

"Me?" Emily shook her head, "You don't need my help. Anyways, Mentor's making lunch and I'm kind of hungry."

"Are you sure?" Mike asked her as she turned to walk away, "You beat me fair and square in our last sword fight! There's obviously something you know that I don't."

"Maybe next time, Mike," Emily told him. Mike couldn't see it because Emily was walking away from him, but she smiled. Mike wanted her help. He wanted to learn something from her. It may have only been out of courtesy, or he was desperate for a partner, but he wouldn't have said it if he didn't mean it.

-Samurai-

After a battle gone wrong, Mike felt like he was a schoolchild getting yelled at by the principal. When the Nighlok arise and blasted the power disk from Mike's hands, he thought he had finally been given the chance to prove he had the power to control the beetle.

He had proven himself wrong, though, and the Nighlok escape. Mentor Ji obviously wasn't very happy about Mike's actions. No one could blame the mentor, though. They all realised they were lucky the Nighlok had decided to leave.

"Mike! I am so disappointed!" Mentor Ji all but shouted as he circled Mike and the others watched, only adding to his humiliation. "Putting yourself before the needs of the team places all of you in serious danger. Here I thought you were finally listening to me and training hard to strengthen the team. I can't believe it's come to this but you've become a risk to the others. I'll have to ask you to turn over your Samuraizer."

Mike's eyes widened, "What? You're benching me?"

"It pains me to say it, but I don't think you're truly ready to become a samurai."

Mike shook his head and stood up. He wasn't about to take this. He knew his behaviour deserved some kind of punishment, but he was ready to be a samurai. He belonged here, with the others.

"I'm tired of your lectures," Mike growled as he stood up to Ji, "You don't know a think about me. And if I'm not ready then how can I do this?"

He held up his samuraizer and traced a kanji symbol before Mentor Ji. Behind the samurai master, the plant began to grow until one of the leaves was wrapped around his staff, holding it. Mentor tried to pull free, but the plant wouldn't let go. After a moment, Mike made the leaf let go and he dropped his samuraizer on his stool before walking out.


	9. The Root of the Problem

After Mike's behaviour towards Mentor Ji, the remaining Rangers had no idea what to do. Mentor Ji had stormed out of the room and Jayden was quick to follow. While the red Ranger stood by his mentor and the decision made, he wanted to know if there was anything he could do, or anything Mike could do, to get the team back together. Mike may have been a wild card, but he was just as important to the team as anyone else, and the faster he returned, the faster they would be able to defeat the Nighlok.

Kevin, Mia and Emily sat outside, still in shock at Mike's behaviour. Kevin shook his head.

"I just don't get why Mike was acting so childish."

"To be honest," Mia said, "I think they both kinda were."

Kevin had to disagree, "Mentor wasn't childish. He's got every reason to be frustrated."

"Okay… Mike made a mistake," Emily didn't want to hear anyone talking badly about Mike, not when his actions could be justified, "But it really hurt him to be left out."

"I realise that," Kevin nodded, "but they had to choose the best person for the job."

"Sure," Mia said, "But if you ask me, Mike has more than enough symbol power to handle the beetle disk."

"So why did Mentor pick you over him?" Emily asked.

"He just made a choice," Mia shrugged, "That doesn't mean he made the right one."

Kevin furrowed his brow. He had no idea they were talking about the beetle disk specifically. He just assumed Mike was jealous that he wasn't chosen at all. He thought Mike only went after the beetle disk because Mia had lost it in battle.

"What do you mean?" he asked Mia. "You're perfectly suited for the beetle Zord. Mentor didn't make a mistake there."

"Mike's been working hard," Mia looked at her shoes in the grass, "I think maybe Mentor's been overlooking him. I don't think I'm up to the responsibility of piloting the Samurai Battle Wing."

"Of course you are," Kevin smiled. "You're strong, smart, determined and you don't let anything get in your way."

Mia blushed, "Thanks."

"Not to mention beautiful," the words slipped out of Kevin's mouth. That's what happened when he let himself compliment the girl he liked. Honest word vomit.

Mia blushed harder and smiled. "I… um…"

"I'm going to go…" Emily pointed over her shoulder before she got up. There was no point staying if things were going to get awkward.

Kevin rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh… well… I mean… what I meant by that was… uh… don't be so hard on yourself, Mia. If Mentor chose you, then obviously he sees something in you. Even if you're in the running, that means you have something inside you. You shouldn't let Mike's foul mood sway you to giving up what truly belongs to you."

"I won't," Mia grinned. "Thank you, Kevin."

-Samurai-

"So, mentor teaches you what it means to have the forest power symbol, and you teach him how to fist bump?" Emily asked Mike as she took her seat on her stool. Jayden, Mia and Mike followed and took their seats as well.

"That's pretty much how it happened," Mike nodded.

After a talk with Jayden, Mentor had realised that his approach to training wasn't going to work for the entire team, and that some of his Rangers needed to be taught differently. His new strategy seemed to work, and just in time. When the Nighlok reappeared in the city, Mike was more than ready for his Ranger powers to be returned and he had proven himself to Mentor and the rest of the team. In fact, Mia had gone against her word to Kevin and had given up the beetle Zord to Mike. After all the hard work he put in, she felt like he deserved it. Surely there were more Zords she could control and maybe the next one would be less… buggy.

The other Rangers all agreed with her decision. All but Kevin. When the Rangers walked to the common room, he stepped outside for some fresh air. He didn't really need it, as the battle had taken place outside, but if he spent one more second in the same room as Mike, he was afraid he was going to do something he would regret; something that would cost one, if not two Rangers to be permanently unable to fulfill their responsibilities as Samurais.

Mike had no right to the beetle Zord. It belonged to Mia, fair and square. The only reason Kevin could think of that would justify Mia giving up what belonged to her was the fact that she was a good person and always put others before herself, even if it meant an unnecessary personal sacrifice. She had a big heart. She was kind, caring, generous, sweet and very thoughtful. He loved that about her. He knew he would always be able to count on her and that she would always have his back. He loved how much she cared about her friends and that she was willing to do anything to see them happy.

Nothing angered him more than the thought of someone taking advantage of Mia's qualities. He knew the only reason Mike wanted the beetle Zord was because he knew he could steal it off her. No one would ever try to steal a Zord from Jayden. There was no way that would ever happen. Jayden was strong, much stronger than the rest of the team. And Kevin knew he could overpower Mike, both physically and verbally and he was certain Mike knew it as well.

He thought the green Ranger was his best friend, but Kevin was really starting to hate everything about Mike; from his taste in younger girls, to his carelessness regarding other people's feelings.

-Samurai-

"You did well today, Mike," Jayden complimented. "I think you taught us all a lesson on what it means to be a Samurai. You can achieve anything, even when the people around you have their doubts."

"Believe in yourself," Mike nodded and looked Emily in the eyes. "That's kind of the message I was going for."

Mia frowned, "Don't tell me you scripted this whole thing with Jayden and Mentor."

"That would have been interesting," Mike chuckled, "Sadly, I don't have a single acting bone in my body."

"Then what are you trying to get at?" Jayden asked.

"Crazy Mike logic," Mike said, "Hey do you guys mind if I talk with Emily for a second. I have a question about… organic eggs…"

"Okay," Jayden shot Mike a confused look as he got up and gave the two Rangers their privacy. Mia was just as baffled, but chose against asking Mike to explain. The question was already weird enough.

"Organic feed," Emily explained. "The chickens that lay organic eggs are fed organic feed. Don't worry; all eggs come from real chickens."

"That's not what I wanted to talk about," Mike chuckled.

"That's good because I don't know why you needed the others to leave for that."

Mike switched stools so he was sitting closer to Emily, "I know you've been feeling kind of upset lately."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't try to hide it, Em," Mike said. "You ran off crying last night. We all saw it. I know something's bothering you."

"Can you just leave it at that?" Emily asked. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"I've already figured it out," Mike smirked. "I may not be the smartest guy on the team, but I figured it out on my own."

Mike pulled the beetle disk out from his pocket. He had kept it after the battle, with the intention of returning it to Mentor Ji after he had this talk with Emily. He handed it to her.

"I earned that," he smiled. "I worked hard and trained until I knew I was good enough to have the beetle Zord. You saw that. I think everyone saw it. I'm not exactly proud of all my methods, but in the end, the beetle is mine."

"Your point?" Emily asked.

"I earned it for you."

Emily shook her head and handed the beetle disk back to Mike, "I can't take it! I'm not ready for the beetle disk, or any disk! I can barely control my ape as it is!"

"I don't mean it like that," Mike chuckled. "You're being way too hard on yourself Em. You're putting yourself down and coming up with these crazy theories that aren't true in the slightest!"

"Like what?" Emily asked and Mike felt like she was challenging him. She wasn't backing down and admitting her had figured her out. While Mike remained confident that he was right, it could have also meant he was on the wrong path entirely.

"You feel like you aren't suited for the yellow samuraizer, don't you? Like you aren't good enough to be here?"

Emily lowered her head in silence and Mike knew he got her. He scooted in closer to her and gently took her hands in his.

"Em, none of us believe that. We don't look down on you because you're younger or less experienced. We don't ever thing about that? Do you think Mia's holding back when she fights with you? Do you think Jayden and Mentor Ji treat you differently because they weren't exactly expecting you? Do you really think we don't value you as a strong member of the team?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I guess it's just hard to watch all you guys get better while I feel like I'm always a step behind. I'm doing my best, but it never seems like enough. But you, Jayden, Kevin and Mia… you guys don't have a problem. You just slide right in and find your place on the team. I don't know what I'm doing here."

"You think we don't have a problem?" Mike frowned. "Kevin's always trying to live up to Jayden, and so am I! Mia… well, no one knows what's going on with Mia, but we know she's not perfect. And it's not like that's bad. We all have our own challenges. The only thing that's separating you from the rest of us is how much you want to be here."

Mike stood up, placed the disk back in his pocket and held out a hand for Emily to take, "What do you say, Yellow Ranger? Fancy a few extra hours of training? It'll do both of us a world of good, that's for sure."

"Do you really think more training is going to help?" Emily asked as she bit her lip in uncertainty. "We already train everyday and I still don't feel like I'm learning anything."

"Maybe Mentor and Jayden just haven't figured out how to teach you," Mike grinned. "C'mon. It's not like it could hurt… and if it does, we still have that labelled bag of peas."

Emily took Mike's hand and nodded, "Okay, I'll train with you. But one condition."

"Name it, Ems."

"Remember how you were trying to teach me that block in the video game," Emily smirked. "Could you teach me how to actually do that? It might help me in battles."

"Only if you show me how to knock your opponent down in a sword battle. That way, next time I'm against Kevin, I might be able to catch him off guard."

"Deal," Emily nodded. With a smile on her face, she held Mike's hand and rushed outside to train, pulling him along. "C'mon, before it gets dark out! We want to be able to see!"

"Slow down, Emily!" Mike laughed, "That's my good arm! You don't want to rip that off!"


	10. Kevin and the Manipulator

Punch. Kick. Jump. Dodge. Punch. Smack.

Or so Kevin wished as he glared across the area, where Mike and Emily were training together. Of course, Jayden chose today of all days to announce a switch in partners. He was hoping he could vent out his frustration on Mike and teach the kid a lesson. He was really starting to hate the Green Ranger who thought he was entitled to everything just because he felt he worked hard. Everyone here worked hard. There wasn't a soul in this Academy who sat back and let the others do all the work. Mike was the closest think the Rangers had to laziness. Rather than possessing the bear or beetle Zord, Mike should have been given the sloth.

Suddenly, Kevin was knocked right off his feet by Mia. He grumbled. Another reason he hated Mike. There was no way he could ever hurt Mia. Training against her would only hold him back because he refused to put much effort into his work. He cared for her deeply, and didn't want to see her hurt, especially if he was the one causing her the pain.

As he sat up and rubbed his chest, he saw Jayden walking over to him. He sighed as the red Range knelt down.

"Are you okay, Kevin?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just spaced out."

"Why do my opponents always space out on me?" Mia asked as she offered Kevin a hand and pulled him to his feet. "Are you sure you're fine?"

"Definitely," the blue Ranger nodded. "I've taken harder hits. You're going to have to try harder, Mia."

Kevin smirked as he glanced at the pink Ranger. She nodded and gripped her katana, ready for a second round.

Kevin dug his feet into the ground and fell into a stance, ready for battle, until he noticed Mike and Emily were joking around. He turned, distracting himself from his training with Mia, and received a blow to the shoulder. It was hardly strong enough to take him out, but it still caused him to his attention back to his own sparring session.

He noticed Jayden had his own katana held out, indicating that he was the one who had smacked Kevin. The blue Ranger turned to his leader.

"You should be focusing on your own battle, Kevin," Jayden warned him. "What Emily and Mike do is none of your concern."

"They're fooling around!" Kevin pointed to the two youngest Rangers. "Look at that!"

"At least they're paying attention to each other," Mia frowned. "C'mon, Kevin, we've been at this for an hour! My arms are starting to hurt and you haven't even hit me yet! Let's just do this once and get it over with."

"I know the change was rather sudden," Jayden acknowledged, "But Mike requested a switch in partners for Emily's sake."

"Is that the excuse he gave you?" Kevin scoffed. "We all know Mia's the best partner for Emily!"

Mia leaned on her katana. She could already tell it was going to be a while before she actually got some decent training done. She looked over at Mike and Emily and noticed that what looked like foolish behaviour was actually a rather fun way of training. Mike and Emily were chasing each other around, jumping over obstacles and doing whatever they could to cut off or surprise the other person. It looked a lot more like a real fight that anything she had ever done during training.

"That's not a bad idea…" she muttered to herself while Jayden and Kevin continued to butt heads.

"Mike and I have discussed the new teams and we both agreed that the switch was for the best," Jayden said calmly. "In any case, their training method has no impact on you."

"It's distracting."

"Learn to block it out," Jayden shrugged. "In battle, there will be many things trying to grab your attention. A true samurai wouldn't let anything distract him from a fight."

"I know… it's just… it bugs me."

"Then discuss it with Mike and Emily outside of training," Jayden said. "Now, are you going to spar with Mia, or would you like me to finish the job for you."

"Sorry Jayden," Kevin bowed. He then turned to Mia, feeling a little guilty because he wasted her time, "Mia."

"Just ten minutes, Kev. I promise I won't go easy on you," Mia smirked. Kevin nodded his head. He couldn't make the same promise, but he did want her to improve and that was never going to happen if he went easy on her.

Jayden watched the blue and pink Rangers for a moment before he walked over to Mike and Emily. The green and yellow Rangers were sitting in the grass and taking sips from their water bottles. He approached them and took a seat beside them.

"Are you done?" he asked.

"I know there's still a few minutes left," Mike nodded, "But Emily's fast! I'm exhausted."

"I've never seen two samurais fight the way you both fight," Jayden said, "Kevin and I are worried you two aren't taking this seriously."

"We're completely serious," Emily smiled. "We're just having a little fun. But we covered everything you asked us to practice. I could show you if you wanted."

Emily pushed herself up from the ground but Jayden shook his head and touched her arm, indicating she could take a seat again.

"After the whole ordeal with Mike, it should be obvious that different people require different methods of teaching as well as different methods of training. As long as you continue to improve your skills and your fun doesn't take you away from serious training, I don't see why there should be a problem with how you train."

"Thanks, Jayden," Mike nodded. "And I think this way is better for both of us. You know how much I hate doing what I'm told and Emily's always bouncing around."

"Do you feel you two would be good partners?" Jayden asked. He immediately noticed the blush appearing on Mike and Emily's cheeks. He added, "Training-wise, I mean. This arrangement was only supposed to be temporary, but if everyone feels comfortable I could talk to mentor about establishing a more permanent partnership."

"Definitely," Mike smiled.

Emily titled her head slightly, "I like training with both Mia and Mike. I can learn a lot from both of them."

"I can give you all a few more sessions with your new partners," Jayden offered, "Nothing has to be set in stone."

"Okay," Emily chirped. "But I do want to train with you and Kevin too. You know, that way we all get the chance to work with everyone."

Mike shot Emily a mock hurt look, "You would rather train with Jayden then me? I can't believe it!"

"I… I don't mean anything by it!" Emily said quickly. "It's just… I can learn from everyone."

"Well, you're about to learn something knew from me," Mike teased before squirting the water from his bottle in her face, "I am a master at water fights."

"Mike!" Emily chuckled. She wiped the water away from her eyes and glared at the forest samurai. Mike grinned before dumping the contents on his bottle over her head, effectively soaking her head and most of her upper body. Emily growled, but the laughter was evident. Mike sensed she was about to retaliate and jumped up. Emily did the same and took off after him.

Back on the training grounds, Kevin could see Mike running around and having fun. This was still training time. Everything was serious! How could he expect anyone to take him seriously, or consider him an important part of the team if he treated everything like it was just a joke.

He ended the match with Mia and walked to the bench to grab his towel. He gripped it tightly and his knuckles turned white.

"You're seriously pissing me off, Mike," he muttered to himself. "How the hell can you think you deserve more responsibility than Mia, if you continue to act like a child?"

"What?"

Kevin turned and noticed Mia was standing almost right behind him. She was obviously heard him muttering to himself, and most likely heard her name as well. Kevin shrugged and scratched the back of wiped the back of his neck with a towel.

"Uh, nothing; I'm just talking to myself."

"I heard my name."

"Yeah, I was saying how cool it was to be partnered with you. You're a much better samurai than Mike."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kevin," Mia smiled, "But we all have our strengths and weaknesses, and I think Mike's proven that he's working just as hard as the rest of us."

"By running off every time something doesn't go his way?" Kevin shook his head, "I'm sorry, Mia, but I just don't see it."

"Maybe that's why Jayden's the leader, and you're the blue Ranger," Mia shrugged. "I don't mean you wouldn't make a good leader, but if Jayden or Mentor thought that Mike was headed off the rails, they would definitely do something about it."

"He's a manipulator, Mia."

"Is this about me giving up the beetle to Mike?" Mia asked. She had sensed a little bit of tension between Mike and Kevin since the battle. She knew she had gone against her word to Kevin when she gave up the beetle disk to Mike, but she truly thought he had earned it. "I know I promised I would stand my ground, but there will be other Zords, or other power-ups. Maybe I'll get something better. But Mike's been working hard. He deserved some recognition."

"You've been working hard."

"Just seeing everyone finally working together and smiling is good enough for me," Mia grinned. "Mike's back to being Mike, Jayden's still the same old leader we all know and love, and Emily seems to have come out of whatever slump she was in. Can we just stay happy for a few days before there's anymore drama?"

"What do you mean; Emily's come out a slump?"

"Well, you remember when she ran off crying to her room? I don't know what Mike did, but last night he talked with her privately. He said he wanted to ask her about eggs, but my guess is the topic was something a little more personal. I don't know what it was about, but Emily's happy again."

Kevin clenched his fist. Another thing that irritated him about Mike was his crush. Kevin knew it was impossible to control who you had feelings for. He remembered, for a while in elementary school, he had a crush on the cafeteria lady. He thought she liked him best because he always got a little more tater tots than the other kids in line. He quickly outgrew that, though.

He knew Mike liked Emily. It was obvious to everyone except Emily. At least, all the guys knew. He wasn't sure if Mia saw it as well. The only difference between Mike's crush and Kevin's weird crush was the choices being made. Mike was obviously acting upon it, while Kevin had chosen not to do anything. He had only been a kid at the time, and the cafeteria lady was older. Even at ten years old he knew that was inappropriate.

Mike was a bad apple. He was manipulating Emily, he had manipulated Mentor, Jayden, and, worst of all, he had manipulated Mia.

Kevin wasn't going to fall for it. And he wasn't going to watch someone else get hurt because of Mike.


	11. Blue and Green

Mike bit his lip and pressed any and all combinations as quickly as he could. His eyes were fixed on the TV screen. A few more seconds and…

"AHA!" he cried out as he jumped to his feet and pointed to Mia, "I told you! I can kick your ass any day, any time, any way!"

"Can I go to bed now?" Mia grumbled. It was 3:10 AM and she was really starting to regret questioning Mike on his passion for video gaming, especially the Ninja games, when he was already a real life Samurai. The topic had come up over dinner, and Mike had argued that video gaming was something he did to get away from the real world. He was a samurai, but he wasn't a ninja, and playing pretend thanks to virtual reality was amazing. Mia had laughed at him and told him that if he spent as much time training as he did gaming, he would be the best of the group.

That led to the challenge. Mike, refusing to let Mia put a dent in his gaming pride, told her that video gaming never once got in the way of his own personal training schedule, and that if he were to challenge her to any kind of fight, he could come out champion. Mia agreed, unaware of what Mike meant by _any kind of fight_, and the two decided to challenge each other in the middle of the night, after a few hours of sleep each. They set their alarm clocks and started their duel at 3:00 AM.

Mia was just happy the fight was done. She missed her bed. It was soft and warm. The house at night was dark and cold.

"You mean that's it?" Mike asked, full of energy. "C'mon, aren't you excited? Can't you just feel the rush?"

"There's no rush when you lose," Mia shook her head, "Especially not when you're tired."

"What about the thrill of striving to get better and defeating your opponent in a rematch. You can't do that lying down!"

"Look, Mike, I can kick your ass in real life no problem," Mia said with a chuckle, "It would be unfair for me to kick it virtually too. How about we go to bed? You can be champion of the virtual world and I'll be champion of the real world."

"But Mia…"

"She said it's time for bed."

Mia and Mike both turned to the entrance where they saw Kevin standing, looking rather disappointed. Mia got to her feet and headed for her room.

"Sorry, Kevin."

"Why do I get the feeling you're not the one to blame?" Kevin shook his head. He offered her a smile, "Good night, Mia."

"Good night."

Mike turned off the video game console and started cleaning up the gaming boxes and the controllers. He had no idea who would be walking around in the middle of the night or the early morning, but whoever it was was definitely going to trip over something and they wouldn't be happy for the rest of the day.

"Did I wake you?" Mike asked Kevin, unaware of the blue Ranger's stern glare burning into the back of his head.

Kevin crossed his arms over his chest, "Yes. Consider yourself lucky you woke me up though and not Jayden or Mentor. They would chew your head off for being up at this hour."

"Relax," Mike shrugged, "I'm usually awake at this time anyways. It's not like I'll be too tired to function in the morning."

"Have you ever considered sleeping?" Kevin asked. "Maybe a little bit of that would make you a better samurai."

"Okay, when Mia, Em or Jayden say that, I don't take offense, but the way you're saying it now…"

"It hasn't clued into you, has it?" Kevin frowned. "The life of a samurai is full of sacrifice, devotion and complete immersion in self-improvement."

"I get it," Mike nodded, "I'll sacrifice a few hours of sleep and devote myself to unlocking the new weapon in my game so I can self-improve my scores!"

Mike chuckled and held out his fist for props, but Kevin smacked it away.

"That's not funny."

"I couldn't help it."

"That's exactly the problem," Kevin growled. "You can't help anything. Whenever you want something, you have to get it. You don't care about anyone else, do you?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're jealous Mia got the beetle disk! You thought you earned it and when you realise that wasn't the truth, you acted like a two year old and threw a temper tantrum until Mia gave you what you wanted! Does that sound like a samurai to you?"

"I have my reasons, Kevin," Mike frowned. "You're right, Mia did deserve that beetle. She's one of the best. But does it really matter who the beetle or any other Zord goes to when you're trying to help a friend?"

"Who are you trying to help, Mike?" Kevin shouted. "Helping yourself doesn't count as a selfless act!"

"Look, the matter is between me and the other person involved," Mike said. He was positive Emily didn't want him to yell out her insecurities to the rest of the group, especially now that she had them under control again. The last thing she needed was the team treating her like a kid because they wanted to improve her confidence. That would be counter-productive. "It doesn't concern you."

Kevin walked over to Mike until he was standing right in front of the green Ranger. He poked the shorter samurai in the chest.

"Don't you ever steal from Mia, or any of us again, do you understand?"

"I didn't steal. Mia gave me the disk."

"You pressured her until she had no choice. How do you think that makes Mia feel?"

"I can apologise if that makes you happy, but…"

"I thought you were a good guy, Mike," Kevin shook his head as he walked out, "It seems the longer you live with someone, the more chance you get to see their true colours."

Mike growled before Kevin was gone, "We all know my true colour is green."

Kevin left without a single reply. Mike sighed deeply as he returned to his clean-up.

-Samurai-

"I'm telling you guys, that stick someone shoved up his ass when he was a kid… it must be up there sideways, now. He's acting like a total jerk," Mike said to Emily and Jayden over breakfast as he poked at his cereal and watched the little flakes drown in the milk. "He's picking on me for some reason, too. Both Mia and I were up late last night, but he gives her a sweet good night and I get a lecture!"

"Who are we talking about?" Mia yawned as she walked into the kitchen and took her seat.

"Kevin," Mike said. "The minute you left he started yelling at me."

"From what Mike told me it sounded uncalled for," Emily added. "We were all trained differently, and we all hold onto our own patterns. Kevin should understand that?"

"Well, we haven't heard Kevin's side of the story," Mia said with a slight shrug in her shoulders. She didn't want to be the defender of bad attitude, but it was possible that Kevin had a reason for scolding Mike, and Mike was either unaware, or he wasn't sharing that information to make himself look good. She wouldn't put either past her friend.

"Would you like me to have a talk with Kevin?" Jayden offered. He felt he had a rather strong bond with Kevin. He knew the blue Ranger looked up to him and because Jayden didn't want to take sides against any of his team-mates, he usually found himself neutral when arguments flared up. He was like Switzerland, only he was much more powerful that the countries around him.

"I don't know," Mike sighed. "I mean, I did wake him up. He was probably just a little grumpy. I'll apologise to him when I see him. Maybe that'll help."

"I don't need an apology," Kevin growled as he walked into the kitchen. He shot Mike a look, which thankfully couldn't kill, though the intention was there.

"What's your deal, dude?" Mike frowned. "I'm sorry I woke you up, okay? I'm sorry I don't train the same way you do. I thought we all had an understanding…"

"Whatever," Kevin scoffed. He brushed past Mike as he walked to the fridge. Mike looked at his friends and gave them an _I-told-you-so_ look before he looked back at Kevin.

"What's your problem?" he asked. "I don't want any beating around the bush, okay. I thought we were friends."

"I told you what the problem was," Kevin growled. "You're nineteen years old, Mike! Start acting like it."

"Mia gave me that disk! I didn't ask for it."

"Oh, right, you begged and cried until she couldn't take it anymore."

"I learned my lesson!" Mike shouted. "I trained until I mastered my symbol power and I realised what it meant to be a forest samurai! Mia chose to give it to me."

"I did," Mia nodded her head in support of Mike.

"Whatever," Kevin shook his head and turned away. Mike frowned. He placed his hand on Kevin's shoulder and tried to turn him back around. Kevin jumped, grabbed Mike's arm and flipped him. Mike landed flat on his back, completely out of breathe.

"Kevin!" the others screamed as they jumped from their seats. Emily rushed over to Mike while Mia grabbed Kevin's arm. It was a bit of a risky move, considering what Kevin had just done, but as soon as he felt Mia's fingers graze his skin, Kevin calmed down. As Mia held his arm, she could feel him loosening up.

"Are you okay Mike?" Emily asked as she helped him sit up.

"Never better," Mike chuckled. He rubbed his shoulder, "I think he cracked my back for me…"

"Don't joke. He could have really hurt you!"

"Emily's right," Jayden said as he looked at Kevin. "There's obviously something going on between you two. I don't want to know what it is, but neither of you are leaving this room until you've figured it out."

"At least we won't starve," Mike smirked.

Jayden waved Mia and Emily over, "The girls and I are going to head to the park for the day. You're both free to join us once you've talked things out and have come to an agreement. Neither of you are going to be of any use to this team if you're both fighting."

"Play nice," Mia told Kevin before she followed Jayden out of the room.

Kevin turned to look at Mike, who was still sitting on the floor and rubbing his shoulder. He scoffed, shook his head and dropped into one of the kitchen chairs.

"We'll probably be here for a while."

"Unless you're willing to talk."

"I've said what I wanted to say."

Mike pulled himself up using the counters and walked over to the fridge. He leaned his back against it and sighed.

"Okay… my attitude regarding the beetle was a little childish," he acknowledged, "but I don't need you bagging on my samurai abilities. I'm still here, aren't I? That's got to say something."

"If you leave we're one Ranger down," Kevin shrugged, "If I were Mentor, I would already be looking for a replacement. Once they're in, you're out."

"I work hard, Kev," Mike frowned. "I know it may not look like it, but when I train, I do what needs to be done so I can improve. I am always trying. But sometimes, there are more important things than self-improvement."

"Like what?"

"Like…" Mike turned away. He couldn't tell Kevin without speaking of Emily's insecurities, and he wasn't about to do anything to cost himself her trust. Emily needed him on her side, and he needed her. "Never mind. I'll just train harder, okay?"

"You can start by taking me back as your partner," Kevin said. "I know you like Emily and you want to be closer to her, but she's too young for you Mike."

"Why exactly is she too young?" Mike frowned and shook his head. "What does that matter, anyways? We get the chance to train with everyone. I don't see you complaining when Mia or Jayden have to spar with her, and they're both older than me."

"But you like her!"

"We all like her! What's not to like?"

"You like her, like her," Kevin said. "It's got to stop."

"What?"

"You're a samurai, Mike. She's just a kid."

"Hey!" Mike shouted. He stood up straight and looked Kevin straight in the eye, "Emily's just as much a samurai as the rest of us. She's working just as hard, if not harder to earn her place."

"You know what I mean," Kevin frowned. "We have to make sacrifices to keep the people we care about safe. And, we have to impose limits on ourselves. That includes making moves on younger team mates."

"So it's fine when Mia flirts with you, but when I talk with Emily, I get a slap on the hand?"

"It's different!"

"You're just picking on me!" Mike shouted. "I haven't done anything wrong, okay? So I like Emily, that doesn't mean I'm going to do anything about it! Not if she doesn't feel the same. We're just friends right now, and we need each other. I don't see the problem."

Kevin stood up, "You're lazy, you're selfish, you're careless, and you don't care who you hurt, as long as you get your way. That's why I don't like you."

"So I'm the opposite of you and it bugs you?" Mike shook his head and laughed, "Seriously, Kevin? That's your problem? I care about everyone on this team!"

"Then act like it! Act like a samurai!"

"You mean act like you? Boring? Stuck up? Leader's pet?"

Kevin growled. That was a low blow. But instead of getting even, Kevin turned away and once again took his seat. He kept his back to Mike as he stared out the window.

Mike let out a long sigh and crossed his arms over his chest. He had done it again. He had hurt another teammate. Maybe the problem wasn't him. At this point, they should have expected it.

But still, the words had come from his mouth. He dropped his stance and stepped closer to Kevin. Carefully, he put a hand on his friend's shoulder. Before all this, he had considered Kevin one of his best friends. He was hoping they could go back to that.

"Look, man, I'm really sorry," he said gently. "When I get worked up… I say things I don't really mean."

"Shut up," Kevin muttered. "They can't keep us here forever."

Mike shook his head and walked back to the counter. He leaned against it and sunk down until his butt hit the floor. He rested his arms on his knees and buried his head.

"I guess I am a bit of a screw up," he voiced to Kevin. "But I'm trying, dude. I know I can be doing better. I know I should be doing better, but that's just not my style. You and Jayden, you two are the fighters. I'm just the green guy."

"Maybe if you stopped slacking off, you would get somewhere further."

Mike chose not to take that as an attack. He nodded his head.

"Yesterday, when Emily and I were training… it may have looked like we were just messing around, but we were getting everything done. She's got a lot of energy, we all know that. Just ask Mia, she shares a room with her and had to train with her. We started running around, blocking and dodging, and it kind of turned into a game. Jayden knows we're still training. We're just different. Do you think you can accept that?"

"I guess," Kevin nodded his head, but he never turned to Mike. He was still hurt.

"And I'm sorry for what I did to Mia. I may not have asked her directly… but I guess I did put a lot of pressure on her. It probably did hurt her and I don't think I really understood that. She's lucky to have someone like you looking out for her."

"I just want what's best for her," Kevin nodded. "I care about her, you know I do. I just pisses me off when I see someone taking advantage of other people… especially her. I don't want her to get hurt."

"I understand," Mike smiled. "I didn't mean anything by it, though. Mia did deserve that beetle… but I needed it. Don't ask me why but… can you just trust me when I say that the beetle helped out a certain unnamed team mate realise just how strong they could be?"

"Sure," Kevin turned around and smiled at Mike. The green Ranger smiled back.

"And… I really am sorry for all the things I said to you," he finished. "It was uncalled for. You aren't boring, or stuck up. Actually, you're pretty entertaining. I've never seen a samurai lose his pants while training or weigh his food on a scale or sleep as stiff as a wooden board all night. Do you even move, dude?"

Kevin chuckled, "I guess I can be a little uptight about stuff like that. But that's just how I grew up. Everything had to be perfect… and I never really got into the whole belt thing"

"Can we, you know, just put this all behind us and move on as friends?"

"Yeah," Kevin nodded, "Friends."


	12. Walk in the Park

Mia, Emily and Jayden were lucky to find an open park bench as they took their seats and dug into their lunch. After an argument between Kevin and Mike escalated, Jayden took charge and ordered the two work out their issues on their own. To help the blue and green Rangers, Jayden was taking the girls out for the day, away from the Shiba house. There would be no distractions and no interruptions for either of the boys. Mentor Ji was still at home, though, and Jayden was certain the mentor would interfere if Mike and Kevin came close to killing each other.

Jayden stared at his hot-dog. He knew that most people loved barbeque, and that hot-dogs were usually a crowd favourite, but he had never tried one. It had been Emily's suggestion when she saw a hot-dog vendor and she claimed she was hungry for lunch. Mia hadn't refused (Mia never refused), and Jayden had told the girls he was paying for whatever they wanted to eat. He very-well couldn't back out.

"Some people put ketchup or mustard or relish on it," Emily explained when she saw Jayden hesitating to eat his lunch. She handed him a few condiment packages. "Just try a little bit. You're really going to like it! Everyone does."

"Even I can't screw up hot-dogs," Mia nodded. "They're good, no matter how you cook them."

"I don't know," Jayden shook his head, "I've always eaten a healthy diet. I'm not sure this qualifies."

"Pizza doesn't qualify either and you like that," Emily pointed out. Jayden had to agree. He had never eaten pizza before Mike turned up, and when the green Ranger finally got his leader to take a bite it was the start of pizza Thursdays (much to Ji's annoyance). Plus, Jayden had learned the value of work and play. It wasn't like he would be breaking his diet if every once in a while he tried greasy foods. After all, Pizza was on the menu already.

So he took a bite and to his surprise the hot-dog was good. Emily pushed the condiments forward.

"Just in case," she smiled. Jayden grabbed the ketchup pack and squirt a little bit. Then he added a little bit of mustard and relish and took another bite. Even better.

Emily grinned and swallowed the bite that was in her mouth, "I told you."

"I'll trust your judgement on food from now on," Jayden grinned. He ate through half of his hot-dog with the girls before he set the remainder down. It wasn't very often he got to spend time with the girls on his team. Usually he was with everyone, or he was with Mike and Kevin; that was, if he wasn't alone or with Mentor Ji. This was the first time he could really sit down and talk with them, and get to know them. He knew it was important.

"So how are you two adjusting?" he asked them, "I know the life of a samurai isn't an easy thing to get used to when you come from the outside."

"It takes a bit of getting used to," Mia nodded as she answered honestly. "There are some things I don't like… such as training until every part of your body hurts every day."

"Or waking up with pain in places you didn't even know you had," Emily added.

"But it's pretty cool," Mia finished. "I guess it's easier to adapt now that we're all friends. Well, friends if Kevin and Mike can get over themselves."

"I thought they were best friends," Emily frowned. "Why would they be fighting?"

"Even the best of friends fight," Jayden said. "It's to be expected. We all live together and we see each other every day. Every once in a while we're going to get under someone's skin. How we deal with our problems though will be what makes us a powerful team. That's why we have you all paired up with training partners and bedroom partners. Mentor and I assumed you would form a close bond with that person and they would be your confidant when things were difficult. We didn't account for any attraction, though."

Emily and Mia both turned their heads and exchanged a look before they looked back at Jayden, confused.

"Attraction?"

"I guess we should have known," Jayden chuckled, "Allowing four teenagers into our home; most of them around the same age…"

"What do you mean attraction?" Mia asked. Both she and Emily knew very well what he meant. They each had their crushes. But they had no idea Jayden knew. If he knew, did that mean they were that obvious?

"I…" Jayden hesitated. Apparently it wasn't common knowledge. He knew the boys had their respective crushes. He assumed the girls felt the same way. It was pretty obvious. The way the girls would always look at or pair up with the ranger that had a crush on them. "Never mind," he shook his head. He didn't want to humiliate the boys if the girls didn't feel the way they did.

"No, you said it. What attraction?" Mia was stubborn and with Emily backing her up, Jayden was outnumbered. Not to mention he had nowhere to go. The house was off limits for the day, and while was faster than both girls, there was no way he could outrun them for long. Not unless he wanted someone to pass out from fatigue, exhaustion, or suffer from a sprain or strain.

"I just…"

"Have the boys been saying anything?" Emily asked a little eager. She knew Mia didn't exactly approve of her actually having a relationship with Mike, but she figured that if the green Ranger felt the same way, they could prove that the three years between them was nothing more than a number. She knew how protective her friends could be, and she knew they were hesitant with her dating anyone, let alone the team rebel. She was the little sister, and no one wanted their little sister to get hurt.

Jayden scratched the back of his neck, "Uh… I…"

"C'mon, spill Jayden," Mia touched his arm, "We promise we won't tell the guys."

"What did they say?"

"Nothing's proven," even Jayden didn't know what he was saying. Love wasn't a theory. There was no proof. Either it was there or it wasn't. "I mean, you know how guys are… right?"

Emily and Mia exchanged looks again, "Um… no."

"Well… we talk, we tease… we beat each other up, we… you know…"

Jayden blinked and sat in silence as the girls tried to figure out what he was saying. And boys thought girls spoke in code. Jayden was already hard enough to figure out when he was being as direct as he possibly could. They didn't like when he was beating around the bush.

Suddenly, the familiar sound of the ice-cream truck filled the air. Jayden let out a long breath. Mia wasn't so easily distracted, but Emily loved ice-cream. He saw the yellow Ranger's ears twitch slightly as they picked up the musical tune. The earth Samurai's head spun towards the source of the noise and her face lit up.

"Ice-cream!" she cried out, but Jayden and Mia could both hear the begging tone in her voice.

Jayden nodded. He knew ice-cream would be the only thing to keep him from continuing this conversation with the girls. He checked his wallet, just to make sure he had enough money.

Mia watched Jayden and gave him a _I haven't forgotten_ look before she too nodded and got up to follow the yellow Ranger, who had darted off the moment she saw Jayden nod his head. Jayden kept his gaze away from Mia. No eye contact meant there was no way Mia could get his attention again.

As the three approached the truck, they noticed they weren't the only ones who had been pulled in by the ice-cream tune. A small, thin man, close to Emily's age, maybe younger, and a rather large older man were also desperate for ice-cream.

"Hey, uncle Bulk, how long do you think it would take me to finish the extreme banana split with extra extreme?"

Emily turned to the smaller man, "You can eat all that?" she eyed his thin figure, "I can barely finish a single scoop cone."

"I'm a man of many talents," the thin man replied. His voice was rather nasally and had a strange whistle to it, but Emily didn't mind. It made her chuckle.

Mia, Jayden, and the man's uncle Bulk approached the truck while Emily allowed the man to cut her in line. If it was just him and his uncle, they wouldn't take as much time as herself, Mia and Jayden. It was the polite thing to do.

"Let me make sure I have enough money, Spike," uncle Bulk said as he glanced at his wallet. "A samurai doesn't walk around with more than the bare necessities, and I didn't plan on buying any ice-cream."

"A samurai is also always prepared for any surprises," Jayden smirked. He found it funny this man was trying to live the way of the samurai. Something told Jayden that both he and his nephew had a lot of work to do.

"Hurry up, uncle Bul…" Spike trailed off as he turned around and his eyes fell on Mia. She was easily one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen (not that he had really been this close to very many women). His jaw suddenly started going hundreds of miles an hour, but words would not come out of his mouth, only incoherent sounds, "Abaa… baboogha… ahouu…"

Bulk sighed and stepped forward to place his and Spike's order with the ice-cream man, "Two banana splits. One extreme and one with extra, extra chocolate and easy on the strawberry preserves."

Bulk turned to the teens behind him and pat his stomach, "I don't want to break my diet."

"Yeah, those strawberries are a killer," Emily laughed before she was nudged by Jayden. "Ow! What?"

Bulk accepted the two ice creams from the ice-cream man and turned to his nephew. Spike was still frozen love and had completely forgotten about his banana split. Bulk nudged him.

"Spike, hurry and take this," he said, "Mine's overflowing and it's melting in my hand. Spike… Spike… Spike!"

Spike didn't respond so Bulk held the ice-cream closer to his nephew's face.

At this point, Mia was starting to feel uncomfortable with the young man's gaze and she was hoping his uncle could snap him out of his state quickly.

"SPIKE!" Bulk shouted at the top of his lungs and the little man jumped and flung his arms out.

Bulk should have seen this coming the moment he heard the ice-cream tune. As Spike's arms flew out to the sides, they hit the bottom of the ice-cream cup, sending it, and the contents soaring in the air. Bulk watched the ice-cream fly and he knew what was coming. He tossed his own ice-cream over his shoulder and turned to run before he received it in the face. Unfortunately, he stepped right on his discarded ice-cream and slipped. He fell onto his back with his face right in Spike's ice-cream's landing zone.

Before he could move out of the way, the ice-cream landed and splattered all over his face. He groaned as he pushed himself up and wiped it off. He could hear the chuckles from the teens around him, however, Spike wasn't laughing. His nephew was too occupied with the beauty before him.

"We're leaving," Bulk ordered as he got to his feet and grabbed Spike's arm, "Come on! I told you ice-cream was a bad idea."

"What an odd couple," Jayden chuckled as he watched them go. He turned to Mia and Emily, "I guess it's our turn."

"He was just staring at me," Mia frowned. "It was creepy."

"He's just a kid," Emily shrugged, "He's probably never seen a girl before," she looked at the ice-cream man and placed her order.

"I guess so," Mia nodded. She looked at Jayden, "It's weird how they mentioned being samurais. Do you think they could be from another academy or something?"

"Or long lost Rangers?" Emily licked her ice-cream and stepped aside so Mia could place her order.

Jayden shook his head, "I doubt it. Samurais don't announce themselves. They must be Ranger fans."

"We have fans?" Emily grinned.

"Most heroes do," Mia nodded.

Jayden gave his order to the ice-cream man and then paid for the three ice-cream cones. He was happy he was treating the girls to lunch and dessert and not the boys. Kevin and Mike would have eaten a hole in his wallet. With the girls, Jayden still had enough money left over for dinner, in the off chance Mike and Kevin hadn't sorted their issues.

He thanked the vendor and the three started to walk through the park, enjoying their treat. A few moments in, Mia remembered her earlier conversation with Jayden.

"So, you and the boys… you talk about Emily and me?"

"I'm sure you two talk about the three of us," Jayden nodded his head. "Don't worry, there's nothing to worry about. It's not like we say hurtful things."

"Yahuh," Mia nodded, "I want to know what you talk about though."

She was intrigued and she hoped she could pull a little bit of information out of Jayden. She knew there was something between her and Kevin, but she wanted to make sure it wasn't all in her head. She liked the blue Ranger; she liked him a lot. She could only hope he felt the same.

"I'm pretty sure I'm already in violation of one of the man-law rules," Jayden shook his head, "I'm sorry, but my conversation with the guys stays between me and the guys."

"You suck," Emily pouted.

Jayden licked his ice-cream as the conversation died. It was obvious he wasn't about to divulge any more information about his conversations with the other two Rangers, and it seemed Mia and Emily finally got the message, though. What they didn't seem to realise what that the more they asked him to spill, the more information they were giving him.

Jayden may have spent his entire life at the academy, and when it came to a lot of the outside-world stuff he was pretty much a newbie, but he did know how to read people. He knew that Mia and Emily wouldn't have been asking for information on Kevin and Mike if they weren't interested, and the fact that they were disappointed by his refusal to talk only backed up his ideas.

A smirk formed on his lips. His team was fun to mess with sometimes. He really needed to get out and spend more time with them.


	13. Romantic Atmosphere

The five Rangers decided to have an evening out. After spending the day with the girls, Jayden had volunteered to treat all of his friends to a fun dinner away from the academy. They spent all their time inside the four walls, and it was nice to see his team open up. It also allowed him to get to know them on a more personal level. He was starting to see beyond the Ranger suits and the Symbol power. He had never had a family before outside of Mentor Ji, but with the Rangers, he felt like he belonged; like he was something more than just a Ranger.

Mike and Kevin had made up, having rediscovered that their differences were complimentary. They were reminded that they were best friends, and whatever had caused a rift wasn't worth losing their friendship. They met up with Emily, Jayden and Mia at the restaurant and quickly took a seat beside the girls they liked. At least, that's how Kevin saw it. He didn't miss Mike and Kevin making a beeline for the chairs beside Emily and Mia respectively, and he also didn't miss the way Emily and Mia's faces lit up when the boys joined.

Jayden was going to have to figure something out. He wanted to help his friends with their relationship woes. He didn't really understand what the problem was with fifth wheels. He wasn't looking for a relationship and as long as love didn't get in the way of duty, he had no reason to ban relationships amongst Ranger team-mates.

"Next time we go out," Mike said as he glanced at the menu, "I vote we make it a day trip. I hear there's this sweet pizza parlour down in Ocean Bluff."

"It's not like we can leave the city while it's being attacked by demons," Kevin shook his head as he argued Mike's idea for dinner. "Maybe once we've defeated Master Xandred we can celebrate down there."

"I think Kevin's right," Mia nodded her head, "The city's being attacked almost every day. If we leave, we're leaving this place wide open."

"Can we at least see if they deliver?" Mike asked. "I doubt this place is going to put bananas on my pizza."

"Bananas?" Emily frowned and turned to Mike, "Why do you want bananas on pizza?"

"Better question: who thought of putting bananas on pizza?" Kevin asked. Mike shrugged his shoulders.

"If we go to the parlour, we can ask," he chuckled. "Do you guys know what you want?"

"I figured we would get two pizzas and split them," Jayden said, "Emily and Mia have agreed to share half a pizza and I'll take the other half. That leaves you and Kevin to share a pizza."

"Extra ham on my half," Kevin smirked as he put the menu down. "I don't know about you, Mike, but I'm craving ham. Mentor's not a big fan of it, is he?"

"Not particularly," Jayden nodded.

The waiter arrived to take the order and the food was out shortly after. When it was time to pay the bill, Jayden put down the rest of the money in his wallet. It was money well spent.

The Ranger left the restaurant as the sun began to set. The weather was nice; too nice to head straight home.

"A walk by the river," Emily suggested, "the birds chirping and the sunset over the water remind me of home. Please!"

"You're full of ideas, aren't you?" Kevin laughed as the others agreed. Emily nodded her head.

"I grew up on a farm. If you didn't have ideas, you were bored."

Kevin chuckled and shook his head as he and the others walked through the park and down to the river. Once they were there, they went their separate ways. Jayden stood along the river but he had his back turned to the water. He enjoyed watching his team socialise, as creepy as that sounded.

Mia and Kevin went off together when they spotted a flock of ducks sitting by the water. Mia had taken some leftovers from the restaurant and decided to feed her pizza crusts to the ducks. The ducks were happy to see Kevin and Mia with food and seemingly welcomed them into their flock, so long as they continued to feed them pizza crusts.

"Small chunks, Kevin," Mia laughed when she saw one of the ducks was having a hard time with the piece Kevin had thrown. Kevin shrugged his shoulders and tried to rip off a smaller piece. He showed it to Mia and waited for her permission to throw. Mia nodded her head and Kevin tossed the piece. He hit the duck in the face. Startled, the duck quacked loudly, spread its wing and began to shake. Mia jumped slightly and when she landed, she found herself wrapped in Kevin's arms. A light breeze blew and both Kevin and Mia could feel the temperature beginning to drop as the sun set slowly on the other side of the river. Kevin held Mia in his arms, keeping both of them warm. In his hands, he held the container of leftover pizza up so Mia could toss the rest of the pieces. Both were completely unaware that the crust was gone and they were starting to feed the ducks actual pizza. They were too lost in each other.

"Hopefully there's nothing on pizza that can kill ducks," Mike chuckled as he watched Kevin and Mia from under a tree. He hoped that one day that could be him and Emily, but with Kevin playing big brother and Mia on his team, there were going to be a few challenges before he could even think about him and Emily. He nudged the spot beside him, hoping to get a response from Emily, but he only hit air. He furrowed his brow as he turned to where he thought Emily was standing.

"What the…?" he asked himself as he spun around. Emily was nowhere in sight.

"Up here, silly."

He heard Emily's voice from above and looked up in the tree. Sure enough, he spotted Emily sitting up as high as the tree would allow her to go. He was still confused, though. The lowest branch was high up, even for him. There was no way Emily could have gotten up there that easily.

"You're going to get hurt," he called to her. Emily shook her head.

"You weren't listening at dinner, were you?" she laughed. "Remember, I told you I climbed trees a lot as a kid. How else was I supposed to get away from the angry rooster?"

Mike nodded his head. Somehow he had missed that story. Actually, he knew he had missed that story. He could never really hear Emily when she spoke. He was too busy studying her. The way she moved, the way her eyes shone in the light or lit up a dark room. He was too mesmerized by her beauty to pay attention. There was only so much he could do when she was occupying his thoughts.

"I take it roosters don't climb?"

"It's not one of their many skills," Emily laughed. "So tree-boy, are you going to come up here?"

Mike shook his head, "I love trees as much as the next guy, but I'm good keeping both feet on the ground."

"Do you know how ironic you're making this?" Emily asked. "Come on, if the earth kid can climb a tree, surely you can."

"How did you even reach the first branch?" Mike asked as he lifted his arm up and the tip of his fingers touched the lowest branch.

"I jumped and pulled myself up."

"Well, here goes nothing," Mike sighed as he too jumped.

Jayden, who was still watching from the river, chuckled and shook his head. Someone was going to fall out of the tree and get hurt. He hoped, if he was right, that it was Emily. At least there was a chance Mike would catch her before she hit the ground. He feared that if Mike fell, he might take Emily with him.

And Emily seemed to be more durable. Mike was always complaining about bumps and bruises after training, whereas Emily always somehow ignored the pain. Jayden assumed it was due to her clumsy past. She must have gotten used to the pain from bruises and bumps, and as a result, was immune to them.

He turned his gaze back to Kevin and Mia. At this point, it almost seemed like the pink and blue couple were trying to reason with the ducks. Jayden could only assume that the pizza was all gone, and the ducks were still hungry.

"Empty," Kevin said, trying to make the word as clear as possible, as if the ducks would suddenly understand the English language. He showed them the empty Styrofoam box, "It's all gone. Fly away."

"You do realise you probably won't get anywhere with them, right?" Mia chuckled as she looked up at Kevin. He shrugged his shoulders.

"It's worth a shot."

"How about we just walk away?" Mia asked. Kevin sighed as he let go of Mia. He didn't want to. He would rather argue with the ducks if it meant he could hold her all night.

Mia didn't want to let go either. Bravely, she touched hands with Kevin and quickly their fingers were intertwined. They walked to the grass and took a seat. A few ducks followed, but many got the idea. The food was gone, the humans were now useless.

Back by the river, Jayden watched with a smirk as an idea came to mind. He looked around to make sure no one could see him before he pulled out his samuraizer and traced a symbol in the air. As he spun it, a pink flower started to grow beside Mia. Kevin spotted it and looked over at Jayden. The Red Ranger nodded and turned back to Mike and Emily to give the blue Ranger some privacy.

Kevin picked the flower and showed it to Mia, "Look."

"It's beautiful," Mia nodded. Kevin shrugged.

"I've seen better," he let go of her hand and placed the flower in her hair. He smiled, "There, now it's beautiful."

"What does this mean, Kevin?" Mia asked with a slight frown. The atmosphere was definitely romantic. The river, the sunset, the flower, it could all give a girl a few ideas. She didn't want to misinterpret the situation.

"I guess we're just getting caught up," Kevin said. He pulled away from her nervously and started picking at the grass.

"Well… maybe we can try this again in a less romantic setting?" Mia suggested. "And… you know… see if we come up with the same results?"

"Are you asking me out?" Kevin asked.

Mia shook her head, "Uh…"

"_Why don't you ask him out?"_

"_Have you ever had a boyfriend? Girls don't ask guys on dates… not when they aren't sure. I mean… what if he says no?"_

"_Why would he say no?"_

Maybe Emily was right. Mia took a deep breath and changed her shake to a nod.

"Yeah… I think I am."

"Sweet," Kevin smiled, "I accept."

"You… you do?"

"Of course," Kevin nodded, "I like you, Mia. I like you a lot."

"I like you too."

Up in the tree, Mike stuck out his tongue.

"I'm all for romance, but can't they find somewhere a little more private to… you know?"

"I think it's sweet," Emily smiled. She was one branch higher than Mike, who had managed to climb up rather quickly. It wasn't a surprise to anyone. Mike was the forest Samurai. It was only natural his talents including tree-climbing. Amongst other things of course. It was too bad he was always comparing himself to Jayden or Kevin.

But Emily liked that about Mike. Not that he was always comparing himself to other people, but that he wasn't overconfident in his abilities and he knew he had a lot to work on. She could relate to him a lot easier than she could to Jayden or Kevin, or even Mia. They knew what they were doing and where they were going in their training. They didn't understand what it was like to watch someone who was so much better than you.

Mike did. Mike understood her more than anyone else. He didn't even have to try and he could read her like a book. Even when she closed herself off, Mike still broke through. She was happy about it too. It meant there was always someone she could count on.

"Okay, maybe if you're a girl, romance in public is sweet, but… I'm just not digging it," Mike shook his head.

"Mia's liked Kevin for a while now," Emily said. "It's nice to see some people getting their happy ending."

"I'll be happy if it ends there. I do not want to share a room with a love-sick Kevin. Food-sick Kevin was annoying enough."

"Speaking of Kevin… why was he mad at you? Did you ever find out?"

"Uh… he didn't like me taking the beetle from Mia," he pointed to Kevin and Mia, "You can probably see why he was so protective."

"That's it?" Emily asked. "You stole her toy so Kevin beats you up? Isn't that a little childish?"

"Well… um… there was more."

"Like?" Emily frowned. What else could have been bothering Kevin so much. Mike had his flaws, sure, but Emily didn't see any that were worth arguing over. Of course, she didn't see very many flaws in Mike.

"Different training styles… life styles… you know… silly stuff like that. I guess we're just been around each other for too long."

"I guess so," Emily nodded her head, "Does that mean Mia and I are due for a fight?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow she's mad at you for something you did in your sleep," Mike laughed. "You girls are always pissed for silly reasons."

Emily frowned and gently pushed Mike. He laughed again and got back at her by pushing her back. Emily grabbed onto a branch to keep her balance, but the branch didn't like the extra weight and snapped. Suddenly, Emily could feel herself falling from the tree.

"Oh shit!" Mike cried.

Jayden winced. He had seen this coming. He was too far to run and catch Emily, so all he could do was watch. He didn't feel like watching the youngest samurai hit the ground, though, so he closed his eyes, hoping it wouldn't happen.

He heard a scream and then a laugh. He opened one eye and looked at the tree. There, wrapped in an overgrown leaf, was Emily. At the top of the tree, Mike was looking down at her, with his samuraizer in his hand.

"Sorry Em!" he called down to her. "That was my bad!"

"Emily!" Mia cried as both she and Kevin rushed over to the tree. Mia uncurled the leaf from around Emily while Kevin lifted her out and placed her back on solid ground.

"That'll teach the earth samurai to keep her feet on the ground," he chuckled. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Emily smiled. She looked at Mike as he hopped out of the tree, "It was actually kind of fun. I've never been swallowed by a leaf before."

Jayden joined the group, "After that scare, how about we head home?" he asked. "The sun's set, and I don't really feel like getting bit by all the bugs that come out at this time of night."

"Deal," the others nodded.

Mike returned the leaf back to normal size before he and the others headed off. Jayden stayed at the back of the pack and waited a few steps before grabbing Kevin's arm.

"So?" he asked.

Kevin could only guess his leader was asking about his time with Mia. He smiled.

"She asked me out."

"She did?" Jayden laughed. "You know, that flower was supposed to push you into asking her out."

"I kind of choked," Kevin scratched the back of his neck, "Uh… are you okay with this? I mean… Rangers dating and all… it's kind of…"

"I can't help the way you feel," Jayden shrugged, "Just remember we have a planet to defend. Nothing is more important."

"Got it," Kevin nodded.


	14. Date Night

"I think it's kind of sweet."

"It feels pushy," Mia shook her head and sighed before she turned to her mirror to check her hair again. Emily rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure he doesn't feel that way," she said. "He's probably happy there's no pressure… Well, not for the whole asking you out part anymore. Now he's just got to worry about the first date."

"And I've got to worry too," Mia bit the inside of her cheek and pulled her hair up. She turned to Emily, "What do you think?"

"Definitely," Emily nodded. She held out her hand, where an assortment of colourful elastics was sitting in her palm, waiting to be chosen by Mia. The pink Ranger grabbed the blue elastic and put it in her hair. Emily chuckled. That was automatic. Mia was dressed mainly in pink, but, of course, there had to be a hint of blue somewhere in her wardrobe. "So where is he taking you?"

"We got permission from Mentor Ji to go down to Ocean Bluff to try out that pizza place Mike suggested."

"You're going with a suggestion from Mike for your first date?" Emily asked.

"Why not?" Mia shrugged, "It's not like he actually suggested it for our first date. We just know it's out there and we decided to try it out. You know nothing too fancy, nothing to casual."

Mia then turned back to face Emily, "Besides, I figured you would be the last personal to think of Mike as non-romantic."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't think Kevin and I saw you up in that tree?" Mia chuckled. "I don't know about Mike, but you look like you were stuck by cupid's arrow. It's kind of cute."

"If you guys keep calling me cute I'm going to take it as an insult," Emily pouted. "I'm a Power Ranger. I can't be cute. Have you ever seen cute scare off a monster?"

"I guess not," Mia laughed. She held her hand out and Emily handed her a hair clip. While the Pink Ranger finished with her hair, Emily looked at her.

"So… you know how I feel… when you saw Mike, did you see…"

"I don't know, Em," Mia shrugged. "Does it really matter, though? There's, like, two and a half years between you guys, almost three. I don't mean to rain on your parade, but are you sure that's the best thing to wish for right now?"

Emily sighed, "I guess not. It's just… well… you know how I feel. I can't not feel this way."

"I understand that," Mia nodded her head, "but… don't let yourself believe in something that might not be true. Anyways, Mike doesn't exactly strike me as a one woman guy. We don't want to see you getting hurt."

"So you're saying it's okay to have a crush, but I should start looking at guys closer to my age?" Emily asked, "Like that Spike kid from the park?"

"Okay… maybe not ice-cream kid," Mia laughed, "But you're first priority shouldn't be to fall in love. Not just yet. You're still a kid. Enjoy it!"

"Easy for you to say. I bet you were dating a lot of guys when you were my age."

"Not a lot," Mia frowned, "I dated a few… they all wound up hurting me. I don't want to see you going through that… and I don't want to see you losing a friend because Mike doesn't turn out to be the guy you think he is. He's a great guy, honestly. I wish him well and I hope he's happy. And, if he's the guy for you… you know… fate will step in. But stick to doing what you do best."

"If you tell me that's being cute I'm going to ruin your date with Kevin," Emily glared at her sister-figure. Mia laughed.

"I was going to say it was keeping Mike in line, but you can throw that in there," Mia chuckled and pinched Emily's cheek, "Thanks for helping me get ready."

"Have fun on your date," Emily nodded, "And watch your back. I don't take kindly to people who call me cute."

"Weird kid."

Mia and Emily turned to the door where Kevin was leaning against the frame with a small bouquet of flowers. He presented them to Mia.

"Nothing fancy," he told her with a smile, "But I figured I better get you something seeing as it is a first date."

"They're beautiful, Kevin," Mia grinned and smelled the flowers. Emily got up from her bed and walked over. She took the flowers from Mia and pushed the couple out of her room.

"I'll put them in water and leave them beside your bed for when you get home," she assured Mia, "Go have fun. The sooner you get out of here, the less time I'll have to come up with a plan to ruin this non-romantic first date."

"I'll have her home by midnight," Kevin teased as he took Mia's hand. Emily rolled her eyes as she walked them to the door. She closed it behind them and turned to the kitchen to find a vase to put the flowers in.

As she searched through the cupboards, Jayden stepped in, looking for a snack.

"Are they gone?" he asked her.

Emily had her head inside the cupboard and didn't realise Jayden had come into the room. When she heard his voice she jumped and hit her head on the top of the cupboard. She pulled herself out and stood up.

"Yeah," she rubbed her head with her palm and nodded, "I promised Mia I would take care of the flowers."

"There's a vase up here," Jayden said with a chuckle. He opened a cupboard over the counter and reached to the very top shelf to pull a vase down. He filled it with water before setting it on the counter. Emily stuck the flowers inside and organised them mindless.

Jayden didn't have to be a mind reader to know there was something going on in Emily's head. As he walked to the fridge, he tried to get a conversation going.

"I guess Mia was excited for the date," he said, "Kevin was pretty nervous. It's weird. You guys never stop talking, and yet he spent the entire afternoon worrying about what he was going to talk to Mia about."

"Dating is kind of weird that way," Emily nodded, "Or… so I've been told. I remember when Serena came home from her first date. She said it started off awkward, but in the end, it was amazing."

"I wouldn't know either," Jayden shrugged and pulled out some sushi that had been leftover from lunch, "I've never actually dated a girl."

"You haven't?" Emily asked. She would have assumed a man like Jayden would have at least been dating at some point in his life. While Mike had been the one to catch her eye, Emily wasn't blind. Jayden was hot. It was a surprise he didn't have girls lining up at the academy.

"I've been too busy," Jayden nodded. "Anyways, dating is overrated. For me at least. Don't get me wrong, you and Mia are both beautiful… I just haven't felt the attraction."

Emily blushed, "Uh… thanks."

"I mean it," Jayden smiled, "I'm not encouraging you to abandon your duties and search for a nice guy, but I'm pretty sure you could have anyone you wanted."

"People don't date cute," Emily muttered. "Cute is kiddish."

"I hate to break it to you, Emily," Jayden laughed, "But around here, you are a kid."

Emily pouted, "Thanks."

"There's nothing wrong with it," Jayden smiled, "You're the youngest. That's it. Kevin, Mia and I… we just see you as a cute… little sister, I guess. That's what we mean. Not everyone really sees you as cute."

"You're in the deep end now, Jayden."

"I don't date, nor do I fall in love, but I do believe that there is someone out there for everyone. Whether it's romantically, or just in a best friends forever kind of way. That someone is going to be able to see you for who you really are. They'll see beyond what's outside and they'll know and understand you. The best part: all that will come without trying. It just happens."

"Like Kevin and Mia?"

"They've only known each other for a few months, but why not? They might have just clicked. Only they will know."

Emily touched the flowers again and sighed. Big kids were confusing. First, they told her to wait because she was too young, and now they were telling her that only she could judge when love struck.

"Thanks, Jayden, you made me realise something."

"What's that?" Jayden asked.

"I may be the youngest, but at least I'm not confusing. You, Mia and Kevin… you all need to have weekly meetings or something so you can get your messages straight."

Emily picked up the flowers and walked back to her and Mia's bedroom to put them away like she promised. As she walked off, Jayden shook his head.

"What?"

-Samurai-

Kevin pulled up to the restaurant and stopped the car. He had borrowed Jayden's car for the night. He didn't have his own just yet, and he wasn't about to use public transit or borrow Mentor Ji's motorcycle. Thankfully, Jayden was supportive, and as long as Kevin made sure to fill up the gas tank and bring the care home in one piece, Kevin and Mia could do almost anything they wanted, and go anywhere they wanted.

Mia unbuckled her seat belt and looked up at the restaurant sign, "Jungle Karma Pizza really does have a jungle theme."

"We should have bet with money," Kevin chuckled as he stepped out of the car, "I could have earned twenty bucks and we could have bought dessert."

"I thought it would be some kind of wild Buddhist or Hindu theme."

"Buddhist pizza?" Kevin asked. He took Mia's hand and walked her to the door. Mia shrugged.

"I guess not."

The couple were greeted and led to their table by a bumbling waitress who took their drink order and promised the waiter would be coming soon. They were handed menus and left to dine.

Kevin searched through the menu. He didn't know what he wanted, but he wasn't truly searching for anything to eat. He was too busy trying to come up with something to say.

He knew this was going to happen. He had talked to Mia hundreds of times, but never like this. It was just the two of them. He assumed Mia didn't want to talk about the others while they were on a date, just like he assumed she didn't want to talk about the Ranger life. He figured that, like him, Mia would want to talk about more personal stuff. He just had no idea where to start.

"Mike was right," Mia chuckled, "They do put bananas on pizza. And here I thought I had some crazy cooking ideas."

"We could share that… if you feel like having pizza for dinner again," Kevin offered, "Or… at the back, there's some other stuff… you know."

Mia nodded her head, "Yeah, I don't think I could do pizza two nights in a row."

She bit her lip and looked down at the menu. She didn't know what else to do. She was so nervous. She wanted to get this right. She had been on other dates before, with a few other guys. Normally conversation was rather easy. Small talk led into personal conversation, jokes could be shared, and at the end of the night, she would part ways with her date and hoped he called her back if he left a good impression.

But with Kevin it was different. There were already butterflies in her stomach, he was already a friend, and at the end of the night, no matter how the date turned out, the furthest they would end up would be in two different rooms. There was a lot of pressure.

Finally, the waiter arrived with their drinks.

"How are you guys doing today?" he asked. Mia and Kevin both put their menus down and he set the drinks down on the table for them.

"We're good," Kevin smiled, "but we're not quite ready to order… well, um… I'm not."

"Neither am I," Mia nodded.

The waiter smirked, "I don't mean to be rude… but is this a first date?"

"How did you know?" Mia asked.

"I saw you guys flipping through the menus and recognised it right off the bat," the waiter said. "I've been where you guys are. You started off as friends, am I right?"

"Yeah, you're good," Kevin nodded.

"I tried dating my best friend… both of them, actually," the waiter said. "I remember feeling exactly the way you both feel right now, both times. Trust me, you guys already know the other one likes you, so just relax, have a look at the menu, laugh at the chef's crazy creations, and I'll be back in a minute to take your order. If you need me before that, my name's Theo."

"Thanks, Theo," Kevin smirked. Theo smiled back and turned to leave the couple for a moment, hoping he had helped them with their silence blues.

Mia couldn't help but laugh as Theo walked off. She was impressed with his deduction skills.

"He's good," she pointed out. Kevin nodded his head.

"Very good. Do you think it worked out with one of his best friends?" he asked Mia. "Do you think friends can date?"

"Well… he said they were his best friends," Mia pointed out. "You are a really good friend, but I don't think we've reached best friend status yet."

"You think we stand a chance?"

"If I didn't, would I be sitting here with you looking at meals like… Noodle Fury Frenzy? What kind of restaurant is this?"

"It's definitely interesting," Kevin laughed. "No offense, but I think whoever came up with these crazy recipes is scarier than you when you're alone in the kitchen."

"You haven't met my mother, then," Mia laughed, "Haven't you ever wondered where I got my cooking skills from?"

"Don't tell me it's genetic…"

"Mom, grandma, great-grandma… why do you think I had no idea my food tasted horrible. I grew up on burnt toast and overcooked chicken."

"I do not want to be in your shoes," Kevin smiled, "My mother was amazing in the kitchen."

"But you had to watch out," Mia smirked, "You couldn't eat before going swimming, right?"

"Not unless you want to cramp up in the water. It could get pretty bad, believe me. I normally ate right after practice, though. Swimming works up an appetite, and I can't be eating before and after practice or I would be eating all day."

"Well, once you teach me to cook then I can make you your favourite meals and they can be ready after you get out of the water. You know, once we go back to our normal lives."

"Sounds amazing," Kevin smiled.

-Samurai-

"C'mon, Jayden, that's three times! Aren't you supposed to be the best Ranger out of all of us? You know, the Great Red Guy! Captain Amazing! The star of the show! The man with the moves and the cool weapons."

Jayden tossed his controller to the side, "In real life, maybe. Video games are definitely not my forte."

Mike turned off the game console and looked at the Red Ranger, "Well, at least now I can say I kicked your ass. Not many people have that honour."

"You would be surprised," Jayden said. "What is winning without losing?"

"A game that's been rigged," Mike shrugged, "or a kid game… you know, the kind where parents tell the kids that there are no losers when everyone has fun."

"You know what I mean," Jayden laughed. He cracked his knuckles. He didn't know playing video games would give his fingers such a workout. There was definitely a technique to winning in the virtual world. If he ever needed someone who was good with his fingers, he would know to talk to Mike.

He glanced at the clock and saw it was getting late. He shot Mike a look, "Maybe we should head off to bed. Mentor's going to have us all up early tomorrow for training."

"Serious?" Mike grumbled, "I thought I would be able to sleep in again tomorrow."

"Expect the unex…" Jayden was interrupted mid-sentence by the gap sensor. He and Mike both turned and watched as it flashed. They didn't have to stand there staring for long before Mentor and Emily rushed in.

"Seriously, tonight of all nights?" Emily sighed, "We're down two Rangers! It's going to take Kevin and Mia forever to get back here?"

"As far as I can tell it's just Moogers," Mentor assured Emily. "You three are more than capable of handling them on your own."

"There's got to be something more," Jayden frowned. It just seemed weird that there would only be Moogers attacking the city. Normally, Master Xandred would send out some kind of Nighlok to accompany them. He walked over to the table and pulled up the map. "The Moogers are by the abandoned warehouse."

"Abandoned… as in there's nobody around?" Mike asked.

"No, the other definition of abandoned," Emily laughed.

"They must be after something in the warehouse," Mentor Ji said. "You three must go after them and stop them before they get it. If a Nighlok enters the city, I will alert Kevin and Mia."

"No sense ruining their date, right?" Mike nodded.

"They should be headed home soon anyways," Emily said. "Kevin said they would be home by midnight."

"I'll send them after you once they have returned," Mentor Ji promised. "For now, the three of you will have to take on the Moogers on your own."


	15. Trouble in the Warehouse

The date had been so enjoyable, Kevin and Mia had lost track of time. They were so engrossed in their conversations that they didn't even notice when JKP began closing down, and they needed to be reminded twice by the staff that they needed to leave.

When they did leave the restaurant, they didn't go straight home. They detoured back to the park and hung out by the water, where Mia had first asked Kevin out the day before. With Mia wrapped in his arms, Kevin leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

"So, do we still feel the same way about each other even without the romantic atmosphere?" he asked her and Mia nodded.

"I have stronger feelings," she said. She looked up at him, "How about you?"

"Same," he smiled. "We should do this again… you know, without having to venture off out of town. Maybe next time we get a day off you and I can do something together."

"That sounds great," Mia agreed. She nestled into Kevin's arms and leaned against his chest, enjoying the warmth. Kevin held her tighter and looked out at the water.

Suddenly, it occurred to him that it was pretty late at night, and he had promised to have Mia home by midnight. While both he and Mia were old enough to take care of them, and they didn't actually have curfews, but he didn't want his friends to worry. After all, he and Mia were Rangers. Something could happen to them at any time. Master Xandred didn't take days off, even for dates.

"I've never hated myself more than I do right now," Kevin sighed and Mia turned up to look at him with a mixture of confusion and hurt on her face.

"What…?"

"We should get home," Kevin chuckled when he realised what she must have understood. "The guys are expecting us. We don't want them to worry that something happened to us on our date."

"Well… I mean, what time is it?' Mia asked. Kevin checked his watch.

"It's 2:00 AM," he told her. "We're two hours late."

"I guess we should be getting home anyways," Mia sighed. "I doubt Mentor or Jayden is going to cut us some slack in training tomorrow because we had a date."

Mia pushed herself up and dusted the dirt from her butt as Kevin got to his feet as well. They looked at each other and smiled. They were disappointed that this marked the end of their date, but at the same time, they were excited for what was going to happen next. All good dates ended with a kiss.

Kevin placed his hand on the back of Mia's neck as she wrapped her arms around him. Slowly, they both leaned in and their eyes closed. Just as their lips were about to touch, an explosion rang all through the city, shaking the earth and causing both Kevin and Mia to jump. They lips did touch, but their heads did as well. Both individuals stumbled away from each other, holding their heads.

"That wasn't how I pictured it," Mia complained. She rubbed her head and looked at Kevin.

"That doesn't count," he said and she quickly agreed.

"I guess we can try again some other time," she nodded. "Maybe we should check that out. Make sure the city's okay."

"Start the car," Kevin tossed Mia the keys, "I'll see if Mentor and the others know about this already."

-Samurai-

It wasn't that the Moogers were especially difficult to beat. If anything, the Rangers enjoyed battling the Moogers, especially if there was a Nighlok nearby. It gave them the chance to warm-up and get back into the action before the real fight began. And, occasionally, the Moogers could be very interesting creatures.

However, tonight, they didn't seem like they wanted to fight. If their behaviour was anything to go by, they seemed too preoccupied with something in the warehouse. Jayden, Mike and Emily weren't too sure what it was at this point, but they were certain that it was something the city could do without. Although, because the Moogers didn't care for fighting, they were doing an amazing job at splitting up and running around aimlessly, making it difficult for the Rangers to take them out.

"Why are they here?" Mike question as he kicked another Mooger down. "It's not like there's anyone around to terrorise."

"They must be looking for something," Jayden spun his sword, taking out four Moogers at a time, beating Mike's record of three for the night. "Keep your eyes peeled for any suspicious behaviour."

"Hey! Come back!" Emily called while dropping her arms by her sides as her group of Moogers suddenly took off. She then crossed her arms over her chest and pouted behind her helmet, "I was just getting the hang of one-on-one Mooger fights!"

She turned to the boys to see if they needed help, but her ears picked up a steady ticking sound. She glanced around and noticed that the Moogers had cleared away the boxes from the middle of the warehouse and had planted a strange device on the ground. On the device was a small red light that blinked every time she heard a tick. She turned back to her Moogers that had run off and noticed they hadn't gone far. They were hiding.

Suddenly, the ticking began to speed up and Emily's eyes widened.

"DUCK!" she shouted to her team-mates as an explosion ripped through the building and the three Rangers were lifted off the ground and thrown from the warehouse.

As the trio rolled on the ground in pain, completely unmorphed, the surviving Moogers rushed back into the warehouse and jumped inside the hole the bomb had created. When they hopped back out of the hole they were carrying a box. Before the Rangers could open their eyes, they vanished.

Jayden tried to push himself up but couldn't muster up the strength. He hit the ground again and rolled onto his back. As he coughed, he turned to Mike and Emily.

"Are you guys okay?"

"I might live," Mike answered, "if the ringing stops… who brought their cell phone to a battle?"

"Emily?"

"I'm okay. I guess the Ranger suits took most of the hit."

"That's why were wear them," Jayden said. He was about to make another attempt at getting back to his feet when, over the loud ringing in his head, he heard the pitter-patter of footsteps. He lifted his head and saw Kevin and Mia rushing over.

"What happened?" Kevin asked as he dropped beside Mike and Jayden. Mia fell to her knees beside Emily and quickly glanced over at Jayden for some answers.

"I officially hate Moogers," Mike said as Kevin helped him into a sitting position. "One minute it's a clean fight, the next, they're blowing us up!"

"We heard the explosion from the park," Kevin nodded, "Mentor told us you guys were fighting the Moogers."

"What brought them out here?" Mia asked.

"We never figured it out," Emily said. "One minute we were fighting, the next there was the explosion. Are they gone?"

Kevin quickly glanced around. The first thing he had seen when he and Mia rushed over were his friends on the ground. It never occurred to him to look around and make sure there was no threat before he approached them. When he saw the area was clear, he nodded his head.

"They're all gone."

"Let's get you guys back home," Mia offered as she gently lifted Emily to her feet. Jayden's car wasn't too far away and they were thankful they had it. Two Rangers carrying three home didn't seem like it was an easy task.

-Samurai-

After making sure both Kevin and Jayden were safely in bed, Kevin walked out of the bedrooms and into the common rooms, where he found Mia was already sitting at the table looking through the city map.

"You're lucky Emily fell asleep in the car," Kevin chuckled to Mia as he sat next to her and pulled her into his arms, "Have you ever tried putting two grown men to bed?"

"You would think they would want to go to sleep after blowing up," Mia said, but Kevin knew her attention was on the map. He gazed down. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"The Moogers were probably just trying to draw us out for something but it didn't work," Kevin told her. "I wouldn't worry about it."

"I know that seems likely," Mia nodded her head, "But I guess sitting here alone just got me thinking. Wow… I think I'm turning into you. So wrapped up in this Ranger business, I forget someone's sitting beside me."

"Should I be offended by that?" Kevin chuckled.

"Probably," Mia laughed, "But I can apologise by going back to where we left off on our date. Mentor's keeping an eye on the others, and they're all in bed, so we do have a little time to ourselves."

"Apology accepted," Kevin smiled and leaned in to kiss Mia. He didn't want to take things too far. She was his friend; one of his best friends now, and he didn't want to screw anything up. He settled for a quick, yet rather passionate kiss. Not enough to completely satisfy his needs, but more than enough to cause the sparks to fly and to make him fall in love with the very beautiful Mia. He could feel the butterflies awakening in his stomach and hit the sides of the walls. His heart began to race and he wished this feeling would never end. Unfortunately, he needed to breathe. When he pulled away, he looked down at Mia and he could tell, just by the look in her eyes, that she felt the same way he did.

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, "Thanks for dinner. I had a great time. This was amazing."

"You're welcome… uh… I don't really know how to respond to that except, you know, thanks for coming and… letting me except your offer."

Mia laughed, "How about we stick to goodnight?"

"Goodnight," Kevin nodded and he gave her a quick kiss again.

While Mia walked off to bed, Kevin thought about going to his room and crashing in his bed. However, he was reminded that Mike was still in their room, and it was unlikely that the green Ranger was sleeping already. Kevin didn't want to have to work to put the Ranger to bed once again, and he didn't feel like answering questions about his date just yet. He wanted to avoid that if possible. It was his and Mia's business. No one else needed to know.

He looked down at the map which was still on the table. He turned to where Mia had walked off and grumbled before he too tried to search for any activity in the city with the map. Now that Mia had brought it up, it was really starting to bug him. Why would Master Xandred send out only Moogers? Why would they attack an abandoned warehouse? Why would they leave when they managed to render three Rangers completely defenceless?

He felt bad that the other Rangers were hurt while he was away. He knew it wasn't like he and Mia had taken off for the night without any warning or permission. The others had known for at least a day before the date that they were going to be down two Rangers for a night, and before leaving the city, Kevin made sure he had permission from Mentor Ji as well as a plan in case there was an attack. He didn't like knowing his friends were hurt when there was something he could have done to prevent it. That was why he had beaten himself up after he turned on them. He thought he could make it up to Jayden, Mike and Emily by figuring out why the Moogers appeared and what was so special about the abandoned warehouse.

He walked over to the bookcase and started pulling out books, hoping one of them would contain information on the location of the warehouse, or, if he was lucky, he would figure out clues to Master Xandred's next plan.


	16. Morning After

Initially, Mentor Ji had scheduled an early morning training session for the Rangers; however, after their battle against the Moogers the night before he decided to cancel it. He knew the Rangers needed their rest, especially Jayden, Mike and Emily. The last thing he wanted to do to the Rangers was tire them out so they were useless.

But when he stepped into the common room, he saw Kevin was still sitting there, or rather, sleeping there. There were books scattered all around him, and he had fallen asleep with his face pressed against an open book. Mentor tapped his staff against the table, beside Kevin's head.

"Normally when one is tired, one chooses to sleep in a bed, or on the couch, not in a book."

Kevin peeled his face off the pages of the book and yawned, "Sorry, Mentor. I kind of got caught up in research. The Moogers last night… don't you find that weird?"

"I do," Mentor nodded, "However, there is no need to tire yourself out and worry over matters you cannot control."

"I thought I could figure this out and give us the advantage, you know?" Kevin sighed.

"The best advantage you can give your team is yourself in full form when a Nighlok does attack. What good are you if you have answers, but cannot help your team when it counts?"

"I guess you're right," Kevin nodded. He closed the book and handed it to Mentor Ji, "I guess I'll go catch up on my sleep before I throw off my sleep schedule. I don't want to have to sleep in two mornings in a row."

"Dude, I would love to be able to sleep in," Mike said as he crossed paths with Kevin. "What kind of nut doesn't want to sleep in, Mentor?"

"Kevin is disciplined. You could learn from him."

"You know he doesn't have an alarm clock, right?" Mike frowned. "He just wakes up at 6:00 AM every morning. It's insane!"

"How are you feeling? When I checked up on you last night I remember you whining about a headache."

"Still there, Mentor," Mike nodded. "Every muscle in my body hurts… and I think I twisted something in my landing. I probably should have seen that coming. Trees don't ever fall gracefully. That's why they shout timber."

"I've laid out a few painkillers for you and the others. You'll find yours on the counter beside the green cup."

"Thanks, Mentor," Mike hurried to the kitchen. He didn't need to be told twice. He would take anything as long as it meant the pain would go away.

-Samurai-

Emily didn't want to open her eyes. She could remember the Moogers in the warehouse and the explosion. She remembered the pain when she hit the ground, and she remembered passing out before ever getting home. She feared she was in the hospital, severely injured and unable to perform her samurai duties. She had a nightmare about it. If she couldn't fill the role of the Yellow Samurai, and her sister couldn't, who would that leave? She couldn't let her team down, or her sister.

Deciding to be brave, she opened her eyes.

"AH!" she screamed when she saw a pair of eyes staring back at her, waiting for her to wake up. She buried her face in her pillow and pulled the blankets over her head.

"Are you awake?" Mia asked her. Stupid question.

"No."

"Wake up, Emily! I know you're probably sore and tired, but it's almost lunch time and I need to debrief you about my date."

"You need to?" Emily muttered. Her face was still pressed into the pillow, but Mia seemed to be able to understand her perfectly.

"Who else am I going to talk to?" Mia frowned. "Kevin already knows what happened… and I don't think Mike or Jayden want to hear me ramble on about my thoughts and feelings."

"I'm not exactly in the mood, right now," Emily sighed, "In case you forgot, I blew up. And this morning, I'm really feeling it."

"Can you at least pretend to listen?"

"Can I make disgusted faces when you get into too much detail?"

"Can I ignore you?"

"I'll be ignoring you, so sure," Emily shrugged. She made a little room for Mia. The Pink Ranger sat on the end of the bed and grabbed Emily's stuffed ape. She held it against her chest and smiled.

"We kissed."

Emily's face turned sour and she pulled her pillow out from under her head and pressed it against her head.

"Start off with something that won't make me want to vomit. Technically, to me, this is my brother and sister dating."

"Um… well… I had a great time… and I'm pretty sure Kevin did too," Mia began to ramble on, "At first it was awkward. You know, with the whole: what do we say? But then this really nice waiter got the ball rolling for us, and it was all downhill from there. We talked about our pasts, our families, growing up… we really opened up and it just felt so right."

"And you lived happily ever after?"

"Not yet. Then, the restaurant closed, so we drove back to the park and just sat for a bit."

"When do we get to the part where Jayden, Mike and I blow up? Is that now? Because you guys showed up pretty quickly afterwards."

"Well, first there was the almost-kiss," Mia grinned. "That was… um… interrupted by the explosion. But last night, after we got you guys home and in bed… it was perfect."

"Go on," Emily nodded while rolling her eyes. Any other day she would have been interested. But her head was pounding and her entire body hurt. Any movement caused her muscles and joints to scream in agony. Even the thought of getting out of bed caused Emily physical pain. She was sure Jayden and Mike were in the same condition.

"It was just the two of us in the common room. We knew the date was over, but we were missing that first date kiss… so he pulled me in and… I think I'm in love."

Emily furrowed her brows and for a moment she ignored her body and sat up in bed. She may have been young, but even she knew that love was a powerful emotion and it wasn't something people just felt that quickly. For Mia to make such a claim meant that either she was truly in love, or she was getting way too ahead of herself.

"Backup. Love? You've been on one date and you're already saying love?"

"You know it when you feel it," Mia nodded. "I know it's a little premature… but it just feels so right! Everything about him. He makes me smile, he makes me laugh. I love being around him. He's so caring and calm and…"

Mia squeezed Emily's ape so hard the yellow Ranger was terrified her stuffed toy was going to lose its head.

"Monkey…"

Mia gazed down at the toy before handing it back to Emily, "I'm sorry. Anyways, that's the end of my rant."

"Thank you."

"So, any theories? Do you think it's possible he might be in love too? I know you didn't see anything, but the way he looked at me after the kiss… it was dreamy and it was like he felt it too."

"I guess," Emily shrugged, "I mean… what would I know, right? I'm just a kid; I should enjoy being a kid."

Mia frowned until she realised what Emily was doing. She had told her exactly that when Emily started talking about her feelings for Mike.

"Ha-ha," she mocked and nudged the younger girl. Emily whimpered. Her body still hurt. Mia gasped, "Sorry!"

"It's okay," Emily whispered, "You can make it up to me by seeing if there's anything to make the pain go away."

"Mentor would know about that," Mia said. She got up from the bed and walked to the door, "I'll go see if I can find anything."

As she rushed out of the room to take care of Emily, Mia nearly bumped into Mike. She carefully avoided him, though, but stopped for a quick chat, just to make sure he was okay.

"I expected Jayden to be moving around today, but I thought you would be in bed still too."

Mike shook his head, "Nope. Kevin just isn't as nurturing as you. If I want something, I have to get it myself."

"Oh," Mia grinned at the mention of Kevin's name and lost herself in her thoughts. She didn't snap back until she realised Mike was waving his hand in front of her face and he was calling her names. "What?"

"Ranger Pink has finally landed," Mike teased. "I just wanted to tell you there's a glass of water and a few painkillers for Emily on the counter. I was going to bring them to her myself, but I realised my bed is so much closer than your bedroom is to the kitchen… and all that effort…"

"I'll do it," Mia nodded, "I was going to anyways."

"Sweet," Mike smiled and turned to leave, but before he did, he gave Mia one last look, "Take care of her for me today, okay? She was closest to the bomb when it went off. If it wasn't for the suit…"

Mia noted the look of concern on Mike's face and she offered him a sympathetic smile.

"She's fine, Mike. She's a tough girl. And you know me; I'm always ready to help. If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask. I'll probably be catering to Emily all day; I might as well help you out too."

"Thanks, Mia. I promise I won't be a burden. I'll probably spend the day in bed. I'll take advantage of Mentor feeling sorry for me, Jay and Em."

"Good idea," Mia laughed. She let Mike return to his bed and walked to the kitchen. Just as Mike had said, Mentor had already prepared a few painkillers and a glass of water for the Rangers injured in the explosion. She grabbed the yellow cup and the pills beside it before turning to the red cup. She saw there was no more water and assumed Jayden had already been to the kitchen and had taken a sip. She was surprised to see that the pills, however, were still sitting on the counter, untouched.

With Emily's stuff in her hands, she walked to the window where she saw Jayden was outside training. There was a determined look on his face. Mia was impressed. If she had been in that explosion, she would have waited a few days before even thinking about getting back on the mat.

Of course, she hadn't been raised at the Academy. It must have been a blow to Jayden's ego to be defeated by a few Moogers and their toys, not to mention letting two other teammates get hurt as well.

She shook her head. She was sure Mentor Ji would be keeping an eye on Jayden. But for now, she was due back in her room.


	17. Rocks and Logs

Lunch time rolled around a few days after the explosion that had hurt three of the five Rangers. Lunch was usually the only time of day the Ranger felt safe from Jayden or Ji's training. No one interrupted lunch (unless they came from the Sanzu River, of course).

Kevin was enjoying seeing his team back on their feet. He had never figured out why the Moogers were in the warehouse, or what they wanted, but he had taken Mentor's advice. There was no way he could travel to the River and stop Master Xandred's plan. Not as a human anyways. The best thing he could do was train and get stronger, so that when a Nighlok did surface, he had the power to help his team defeat them.

He sat outside on the patio next to Mia. In his lap was a plate and in his hand was a sandwich. His other hand was resting just behind Mia. He looked out at the training mat, where Mike and Emily were getting in some extra hours to make up for their days in bed. He knew they were both aware that they were the two weakest Samurai when it came to battle and they needed all the help they could get. But what they lacked in fight, they made up for in determination. He could see the pain in their eyes, and yet they never gave up trying to improve.

He watched as Mike took out Emily, but quickly reached out and grabbed her before she hit the ground. He did this every time he won. He wasn't about to let her fall. Kevin knew why he did this. He knew Mike liked Emily, and he knew how hard it was for a man to hurt a woman he had feelings for. He didn't mind that Mike and Emily were close, but if the Green Ranger made a move on his little sister, he was going to wish that explosion took him out.

"I think we're getting ahead of ourselves," Kevin heard Mia say and he turned to her.

"What?"

"Mike's a sweet guy. Sure, he's a few years older than her, but we all are. It was bound to happen."

"What are you talking about?" Kevin asked. Mia shrugged her shoulders and put her plate on the grass. She shifted slightly so she was facing Kevin.

"I know Emily likes Mike. You know Mike likes Emily. I'm pretty sure Jayden knows too. I know you know what I'm trying to get at."

"I don't like the idea," Kevin shook his head. "Mike's my best friend, don't get me wrong, but it's because he's my best friend that… I don't trust him with her."

"Okay, so Mike's a clown. He's a bit lazy, he acts before he thinks and he can be a little irresponsible. But he has proven to us all that he is a good guy, right?"

Kevin once again had to shake his head. He didn't blame Mia for not understanding. She couldn't see what he saw.

"Mike might not want to hurt Emily… but it's going to happen. Emily can't protect herself against him either. She's too young to understand any of this. Don't you remember what love was like at sixteen?"

"You're asking me?" Mia laughed, "I'm the Ranger waiting for the fairytale ending."

"But you know relationships aren't like what you see on TV. There is the happy ending, but life moves on. You've got to work at it. There will be fights, there will be mistakes, and hearts will be broken. I don't want to watch this team fall apart because Mike did something stupid and Emily can't… get over it or doesn't understand. If he does anything to break her idea about love and romance… it'll kill her and I can't watch that happen."

"No one can," Mia nodded. "We don't want to see anyone getting hurt. Since we started dating, Jayden's been watching you like a hawk. I think even Emily has her eyes peeled for any suspicious behaviour from you. I can only assume Mike's probably watching me and making sure I'm not doing anything to hurt you."

"But we're different," Kevin said, "We're older. We've been here, done that. We've already had our hearts broken, right?"

"Yeah."

"We know what we're in for. Emily doesn't… and I don't want her to find out the hard way. Mike's a good friend, but he just… I don't see him as good boyfriend material."

"I can't argue with that," Mia laughed and wrapped her arms around Kevin, "If you did, I would have to worry."

"I… I didn't mean it like that," Kevin frowned. He pulled Mia in and kissed her, "I'm not leaving you, especially for Mike."

Over on the mats, Mike ducked under a blow from Emily and fell onto his butt. He was tired, he was sore, and he was ready to call it a day. He had been up since 8:00 training with Emily and he was done.

"Thank you," Emily sighed in relief as she too collapsed beside Mike, "I didn't want to call it, but I've been ready to quit for about an hour now."

"It didn't show," Mike rubbed his ribs, "You hit me hard that one time. I'll probably have your fist printed on my chest for the next little while."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Mike chuckled, "That's the name of the game."

"But I feel bad."

"I can take it," Mike smiled and nudged Emily, "Anyways, it's a good thing, remember? It means you're improving. However, I think I need some more work. There's no way I should have let anything hit me."

"It was close to the end. You were probably just tired. You're a really good fighter, Mike," Emily assured him. She hated when he tried to bring himself down, even if it was all talk and she knew he didn't believe it.

"Thanks, Em. Are you ready for lunch? I think we still have a few…"

Mike trailed off when he saw Mentor Ji and Jayden stepping out of the house while carrying four logs. He knew this meant it was the end of lunch time and it was back to training. He groaned at his luck.

"Today, we're going to do something a little difficult," Mentor announced as Jayden set the logs down in a row. "It may appear easy at first, but believe me, this is no simple task."

"What? Are we going to stand on the logs and see who can stay there the longest?" Mike laughed but a serious nod from Jayden hushed his laughter. "Wait, you're serious?"

"Like Mentor said, this isn't easy. The flat surface of the log isn't very big. It doesn't allow for much movement. And with the sun beating down on you and the rocks in your hands…"

"The what?" Mia asked.

"The rocks," Jayden tossed her two rocks, "You'll have to hold these up in your hands while you're up on the log. If your hands fall below your waist line you're done."

"Everyone up," Mentor instructed the four Rangers. Jayden had already done this task a few years ago and had done very well. There was no need to put him through this again when he was much further in his training and wouldn't profit at all from working with the others.

When the four Rangers were up on their logs Jayden handed out the rocks and instructed them to hold one rock in each hand and to make sure their hands remained close to their sides, without ever touching their body or falling below the waste. They were also not permitted to drop the rocks, for any reason.

"This feels so weird," Mia stated as the training began. She was used to moving around, not standing with rocks in her hands.

"Remember, Rangers, power comes not from the body, but from the mind. Don't forget that, and you'll do well," Jayden advised the Rangers before he and Mentor Ji turned their backs and walked off. They trusted the Rangers would obeyed by the rules.

"Are we allowed to talk?" Mike asked and he looked around at his three friends standing on the logs beside him. "Maybe it'll pass the time."

"I'm trying to focus," Kevin muttered. He had his eyes screwed shut and was trying to put all his attention on the task at hand. He knew if he kept his mind focused on holding up the rocks and staying steady on the log, he could stay up there for hours.

"Whatever, dude," Mike shrugged, "I'm just glad these rocks aren't heavy. That would suck."

Hours passed and the Rangers were still standing on their logs. Conversation had stopped and they all seemed to be focused on the task at hand. Jayden had come outside to check on his team, and from where he was standing he could see the sweat dripping from their foreheads as they stood out in the sun. For a moment, he worried about whether or not they would burn, but his rid his mind of that thought and smiled. They were doing rather well.

Suddenly, Mia's face twitched.

"Oh no…" she muttered.

Her nose wrinkled, "Please no…"

Her chin quivered, "Ah…"

Beside her, Mike opened one eye and gave her a look, "Are you going to…"

"Atchoo!" Mia sneezed loudly and her body shook. Instinctively, one hand flew towards her face and the rock resting in her palm fell off. Jayden hated to call it, but he knew he had to.

"It was a good run, Mia. Congratulations," he smiled.

"I could have been out there longer," Mia sighed as she hopped off her log and walked to Jayden. He shrugged his shoulders and leaned in.

"You'll still profit just as much as the others," he whispered just to her. "For now, continue to watch the Rangers."

Mia nodded and Jayden walked off again. She took a seat on the deck and watched her friends as they stood on logs. All she could do at this point was study them and their technique to remaining on the logs.

Kevin was focused, but Mia could see his arms were shaking. The rocks weren't very heavy, but with gravity working against them, the weight felt like it was constantly increasing and it became more and more difficult to hold your arms up. Still, he didn't look like he was budging anytime soon. Though Kevin couldn't see it, Mia gave him a supporting smile.

She then turned to Mike. She had been beside him and had heard a few noises coming from him while she was on the log, but now she was getting the chance to see what he was doing. He was talking to himself, and from the looks of it, he was creating his dream-video game in his head. He was taking his mind off the rocks and focusing on something a lot more pleasurable. It seemed to be working for him.

Finally, her eyes fell on Emily. She could see the young Ranger was having a hard time keeping the rocks over her waist while standing on the logs, but she could also tell Emily was far from ready to give up. Emily wasn't a quitter. She always did her best. This time was no exception.

On his log, Kevin knew he had an advantage. Mike and Emily were still sore from the explosion and by now the pain would be taxing on their bodies, as well as the pain from remaining perfectly still for such a long period of time. He understood why this was no easy task.

He started smiling to himself. He would win, he knew he would. He didn't want to discredit Mike and Emily. They were both good Rangers and good samurai, but this was his game. He was better. He was up there with Jayden and he was going to prove it.

Mike's mumbling pulled him from his thoughts and the blue Ranger turned to his friend, "Seriously, I thought I told you to be quiet hours ago?"

"Dude, this is quiet," Mike replied with a smirk. He turned to get a better look at Kevin when suddenly his foot slipped and he fell off the log.

"That's what you get," Kevin shrugged before closing his eyes again. Mike dropped the rocks and rubbed his butt as he got to his feet.

"Just for that, I hope Emily kicks your ass," Mike teased. As he went to join Mia he walked by Emily. When he passed her he smiled. "C'mon, Em. Hang in there. You've got this."

Mia watched as Mike whispered to Emily and she was surprised to see Emily getting back into the game. Her hands were raised slightly, her fingers curled around the rocks, gripping them tighter, and her back straightened out. A smile appeared on the yellow Ranger's lips and didn't fade for quite some time as the hours went by.

Emily responded well to Mike. It was easy to see. She had shown a lot of improvement since everyone had switched partners and she was paired with him. She was also displaying a lot more confidence in herself, which was something she always had trouble with.

As Mike and Mia watched, she also noticed that Mike was keeping his eye on Emily and he would whisper words of encouragement to her even if he knew she couldn't hear him.

Another hour passed. Mia and Mike were getting rather bored. Watching people standing on a log for an entire day was not as interesting as it sounded.

"They're not giving up," Mia commented to Mike in a soft voice so as not to startle the Rangers on the logs.

"She can do it. I know she can," Mike smiled as he continued to watch Emily.

"I'm already impressed," Mia said, "by both of them. I could have lasted longer than I did, but I think that by now I would have given up."

"A samurai never gives up," Jayden explained as he stepped out of the house and set down four water bottles for the Rangers. Mia and Mike grabbed their own. "Sometimes, you have to learn to dig deep and pull your strength from within. Kevin and Emily are demonstrating that."

Mia nodded. Jayden had been right when he told her she would still profit even though she wasn't still a part of the training. She had learned the lesson. Never give up; never give in.

Suddenly, Mike jumped up and darted over to the logs just in time to catch Emily as she fell from the logs. He slowly lowered her to the ground and shook her gently.

"Emily? Are you okay?"

Mia ran over with the blue and yellow water bottles for Kevin and Emily. She handed the yellow one to Mike and gave the blue one to Kevin as he hopped down. Kevin dropped the rocks and placed one hand on his head as he took a seat on his log.

"That was hard," he muttered before taking a sip, "I don't think I could have made it any longer."

"You were great," Mia smiled to Kevin.

As Emily regained consciousness her eyes fluttered open. Mike quickly sat her up and gave her the bottle to drink from before she really made herself sick. She took a quick sip and then lowered her head.

"I couldn't do it."

"Hey," Mike smiled, "You outlasted most of us and gave it everything you had. Really, you're the only one who didn't give up or give in."

"What about me?" Kevin asked.

"You jumped off that log the moment you won," Mike answered him. "You did well, too, but technically, that's giving up."

"I… I guess," Kevin shrugged. Mike did have a point. Neither Mentor nor Jayden said this was a completion to see who could last the longest. It was test of strength, power and will. He may not have lasted much longer than Emily, but he should have gone until he couldn't take it anymore.

"And, Mia was beaten by a sneeze," Mike added to his point as he glanced at the pink Ranger, "Kind of pathetic, Mia."

"I'll admit, it wasn't my best moment," Mia laughed.

"And I lost focus and paid the price," Mike slowly lifted Emily to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Emily nodded, "Thanks, Mike."

"I'll help you inside," Mike offered his services to Emily but didn't wait for her to accept. He lifted her onto his back and started jogging back to the house. Just for fun, and because he wanted to hear her laugh after such an intense training workout, he ran in a few circles and hopped around several times before crossing into the Academy.

Jayden followed them inside after congratulating Kevin. He wanted to tell Mentor Ji that the Rangers were done, and he wanted to tell him the results.

When they were alone, Mia smiled again and gave Kevin a kiss.

"You were amazing," she told him. "I was so impressed you lasted that long! I never could have done that."

"Thanks," Kevin took another sip of water, "but I'm sure you would have done well too if that sneeze didn't get the better of you."

"I can't complain," Mia grinned and wrapped her arms around Kevin's shoulders, "watching you giving this your all… it was kind of hot."

"Tell me about it," Kevin muttered, "I feel like I'm on fire! That sun has no mercy, does it?"

"How about we go back inside?" Mia laughed as she helped Kevin up. "I think you deserve a little A/C."


	18. Running Away from Problems

Mornings were never Mike's cup of tea. Normally he would sleep right through them. He had never really heard the term _good morning_ until he arrived at the Academy and was pulled from his bed before the sun rose almost every day. It got to the point where occasionally, even on mornings where Mike could sleep in as long as he wanted, he still found himself wide awake before 7:00, unable to fall back asleep.

He looked over at Kevin's bed and noticed the Blue Ranger was already gone, as usual. With a grunt and a groan, he peeled himself out of bed, convinced he was never going to fall back asleep now.

He dragged his feet along the floor as he walked to the common room. He hoped someone was already making breakfast. He really didn't feel like cooking for himself or anyone else this morning. Kevin was awake, and surely he, or Mentor, or even Jayden, would be able to handle the kitchen duties while he lounged uselessly in the common room.

Just before he turned the corner, he heard the familiar sound of Emily's flute whistling a few notes at a time. He never heard her playing much. There was only that one time when he had hurt her. Once he realised his words were insulting, he went to apologize and found her outside playing the flute. She told him her sister used to play for her and he knew it was the closest thing she really had to home: the music.

He gently stepped into the room, trying not to interrupt her. He saw her lying on her stool, jotting down notes on a sheet of paper. As he got in closer he noticed that the notes she was taking down were, in fact, music notes. Emily was writing a song.

"You never cease to amaze me," he whispered as he took a seat beside her. Emily looked up, startled at his arrival.

"I didn't hear you come in," she said. 'I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Not at all," Mike shook his head, "and even if you did, there's no need to be sorry. You're an amazing flutist."

"Thanks," Emily collected her papers and sat up in her seat. She reached to the table to grab her case.

"Em… are you writing a song?" Mike asked her. He wanted to hear her play.

"Um… no… well… I'm trying but… it's not very good. Serena used to write songs and play them for me. She was always so good," Emily explained and she hurried to put her stuff away before Mike asked her to play. She wasn't sure about what she had so far and she didn't want to embarrass herself, "I just thought that when I got home, I could have something to play for her…"

"Would you mind playing what you have?" Mike asked. Emily looked down at her flute and shrugged.

"I… it's not done… it's not good yet."

"Like I would really be able to say it's bad," Mike smiled, "I don't know the first thing about a flute. I don't even know how to hold it."

"It's pretty easy," Emily said. "I mean… almost anyone could do it, I guess."

"Can you please play something for me? I don't care if it's Mary Had A Little Lamb. I would just love to hear you play."

"I… um… okay," Emily set her case down and gripped her flute. She took a deep breath before lightly pressing the embouchure under her lower lip. With her fingers in position, she began to play the song she had been working on.

Kevin had been working in the kitchen. He wanted to make breakfast for his friends, seeing as he had been the first person awake. He had just finished with the pancakes and was just stepping out to see what Emily wanted on hers when he heard her playing her flute. He walked to the doorway and leaned against the frame. Emily's back was turned to him, so he couldn't see her face, but he did notice Mike was sitting with her and listening quietly.

The music was beautiful; Kevin couldn't deny that at all. Emily was talented when it came to the woodwind instrument. He had never heard her play before and he was beginning to regret it.

While he couldn't see Emily's face, he had a clear view of Mike's. He had never seen the green Ranger's eyes shine as much as they were in this moment. Mike's focus was on Emily, and he seemed so lost in the music. It was touching to see. Kevin hoped that was the look he gave Mia every time he looked at her.

Emily moved her head slightly, and Kevin noticed a genuine smile appearing on Mike's face. It wasn't his usual goofy smirk; the one he always wore when he was with Kevin and the others, but it was an honest smile, powerful enough to even warm Kevin's heart from this distance. The blue Ranger could only assume that Mike's smile was caused by Emily, and that he only shared that smile with her.

The music stopped and Emily set her flute down at her sides.

"I'm not done," Emily reminded Mike, "it still needs a lot of work and…"

"Em, that was amazing," the smile never faltered from Mike's face, "I don't see how it could get any better."

"It could… I mean, I'm nowhere near as good as Serena…"

"Emily," Mike shook his head, "If you're sister is as perfect as you say she is I doubt she even exists. You're already amazing enough. There's no way there's anyone out there better than you in everything you do."

"I… uh," Emily lowered her gaze and fiddled with her flute.

"I mean it, Em," Mike's smile returned to his face, "It was amazing. You're amazing."

Kevin stepped forward and cleared his throat. Emily and Mike looked at him, surprised to see he had been standing there. Emily blushed when she realised he heard her playing.

Kevin looked at Mike, "Can you help me in the kitchen?" he asked the green Ranger. He didn't want Mike flirting with Emily anymore than he already was. The friendship between the two Rangers was heart-warming, but Kevin still stood by his initial belief. Mike wasn't good for Emily.

"Dude, don't you have a sous-chef in training?" Mike asked, "I was just about to ask Emily to teach me a thing or two about the flute."

"Mia's sleeping," Kevin said. "Besides, I want to surprise her and I need your help." Even he was impressed with his improvisation skills.

"My help?" Mike frowned, "You know I'm not exactly the most romantic guy. I doubt you really want my help wooing your girlfriend."

"Please?" Kevin couldn't believe he had to beg for Mike's help. The forest Samurai nodded. He got up from his stool with a sigh. As he walked by, he placed a hand on Emily's shoulder.

"Flute lessons later," he told her, "I so want to try that out."

Emily nodded and when Mike walked off she got back to work on her song.

Mike stepped into the kitchen with Kevin and watched as the blue Ranger walked back over to the counter.

"The pancakes are going to need warming up," Kevin said, "You can put them in the microwave. I'll cut up some fresh fruit."

"I thought you needed my help with something?" Mike frowned. When Kevin asked for him, he thought he wanted more than just a pancake man.

"I lied," Kevin shrugged and pointed to the stack of pancakes, "It's over there."

"That's a lot of pancakes for just Mia," Mike frowned as he grabbed the plate and walked to the microwave.

"It's for everyone."

"But I thought…"

"I lied," Kevin repeated. "If I was cooking for just Mia, I wouldn't ask for your help. I would ask Emily, or Jayden."

"Okay…" Mike frowned as he opened the microwave and set the pancakes inside. "Well, if this is for everyone, I hope you made chocolate chip. Emily loves those."

"I thought we talked about that," Kevin said, "You know I don't like the idea of you and Emily. She's just a kid! It's inappropriate!"

"What?" Mike frowned, "So I know what kind of pancakes she likes? Big deal! I know little things about everyone here. In case you forgot, people do talk about themselves. Anyways, I thought we were over this. We're friends, remember?"

Kevin set down his knife and turned to his friend, "I'm sorry. We are… it's just… I don't trust you."

"What?" Mike didn't like hearing this.

"I mean, I trust you when we're Rangers. If I was in danger, I would trust you with my life. There's no one I trust more than you… except Mia… for obvious reasons. And I trust you to keep my secrets and… it's just… I don't trust you with Emily."

Mike scoffed. He couldn't believe this.

"Maybe I don't trust you with Mia," he said. "Mia's sweet. She's nice to everyone here! How do I know you're not going to hurt her?"

"I would never," Kevin growled. "I care for Mia, more than I've ever cared for anything else on this planet. I would never do anything to hurt her."

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I feel the same way about Emily?" Mike asked. "Dude, c'mon, if I really wanted to hurt Emily, I would have done it by now! I know how to hurt people! It's probably the only thing I could do since birth!"

"That's exactly it, Mike. Hurting people is second nature for you! She wouldn't know what she's getting into with you."

"Emily's a big girl," Mike said, "She can take care of herself. I appreciate you looking out for her, man, but she doesn't need it."

The microwave beeped and Mike turned to grab the food. He practically ripped the door off the microwave as he opened it and pulled the pancakes out. He set them down on the counter and stormed off to the door. Before he left, he shot Kevin one last look.

"By the way, dude, you might want to pull your head out of your ass before you end up hurting Mia. Why don't you focus on her instead of trying to make yourself look better than everyone else in this house? It's not a good look on you."

Mike kicked the wall before leaving in a hurry. Kevin glared at his _friend_ before picking up the knife again and going back to cutting up the fruits. He was only trying to look out for his friends.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his thumb and he pulled his hand away.

"Dammit!" he shouted. He put his thumb in his mouth and went searching through the cupboards and drawers for a band-aid or a tissue.

"Something smells good," Mia smiled as she stepped into the kitchen. She obviously hadn't run into Mike on her way over, or else she would have picked up on the fight that had happened between the two. Mia was good at reading others, and Mike was lousy at hiding his emotions.

"I made pancakes," Kevin muttered with his thumb still in his mouth as he pulled out the box of band aids. Mia walked over to him and frowned.

"Did you cut yourself?" she asked when she saw the blood.

"Cutting fruit," Kevin nodded. Mia took the band-aid from him when she saw he was struggling to open it. She wrapped it around his thumb for him and then kissed it.

"Better?" she smiled.

"Much. Thanks."

"No problem," Mia nodded. She looked around at the mess in the kitchen. She could see there wasn't much left to be done, but she offered her services anyways. "I could help you out if you wanted… or if you're too busy to teach me I could leave you alone…"

"No," Kevin shook his head, "You can mix the fruit. That's pretty easy."

"Great!" Mia reached over and grabbed the cutting board and the bowl. She dumped all the fruits into the bowl and started shaking it up, "Maybe when you have more time you can teach me how to make a full breakfast. I do want to do my share of the cooking around here, even if I suck."

"You don't suck," Kevin said, "You were just… unskilled."

As Kevin went to set the table, Mia watched him. She couldn't help but notice he didn't seem happy this morning. She could tell there was something on his mind. He smiled at her, and he was trying to hold up a conversation with her, but Mia knew there was something wrong.

"Hey, Kevin… are you okay?"

Kevin turned around, "Do you think I try too hard?"

"If breakfast tastes as good as it smells then it's worth it."

"I mean in general… do I make you feel like I'm always trying to be better than you?"

Mia shook her head, "What? No way! Why would you… you've been talking to Mike, haven't you?"

"How did you know?" Kevin asked.

Mia chuckled, "You seem tense… and only Mike can get you this worked up. You guys are so much like brothers, it's funny."

"You said you thought we misjudged him," Kevin said. "I don't believe you, and I still don't, so why do you think we've misjudged him."

"He's a good kid," Mia shrugged.

"It just sickens me," Kevin growled. "You saw the way he attacked her that time with the bad-mouthing monster. He's the only one here who's ever reduced her to tears. No one wants to see one of their best friends hurting like that."

"I know," Mia nodded. "I want to protect her too. She's like a little sister to me. But Mike's also the only person who's ever really cheered her up."

"After hurting her," Kevin said.

Mia sighed deeply. She walked over to Kevin and wrapped her arms around him.

"You might never like this idea, but face it, you can't control Mike or Emily. If they really do want to date or take things further, they're going to do so whether they know we like it or not. Why don't you just accept that?"

"Keep your friends close but your enemies closer?" Kevin asked.

Mia nodded her head, "Something along those lines… but I hope Mike still is your friend."

"I guess…"

"Good. And anyways, if Mike really is serious, won't you want him to come to you for advice? The best thing you can do to keep him from screwing up is offer him your full support. And you're just going to have to trust that Emily will know whether or not Mike's a good guy or not."

"I would rather fight Master Xandred on my own," Kevin grumbled, but he knew what Mia meant. He kissed her on the top of her head, "Thanks. I'll try that."

"Good. That means you'll have more time to focus on me," Mia grinned. She pulled him over to the table and pushed him into his seat before rushing over and grabbing the breakfast. "Jayden's already outside training, Emily's playing her flute and Mike's probably too pissed off to eat with you. How about you put off apologizing to him for a few hours and we don't tell Emily or Jayden breakfast is ready."

"You have a dark side," Kevin smirked.

"So sue me for wanting to eat breakfast with you," Mia chuckled as she took the seat across from Kevin and handed him the fruit bowl.

-Samurai-

Emily had seen Mike storming out of the kitchen and had been wondering what had happened between him and Kevin. When he left for him room, he told her not to worry and that he would be out soon.

But Emily was beginning to worry. She could hear dresser drawers opening and constant shuffling going on in Mike's room. She knew the green Ranger had a tendency to run when things got difficult, and she was worried he was going to try and leave again over a stupid fight with Kevin.

She made sure her flute was safe from rolling off the table and put her pencil down. She pushed herself up and slowly walked over to his room. She barely made it out of the common room when she bumped into Mike. He was already dressed in his regular clothing with his shoes and jacket on. On his back was a bag which was well beyond full. Clothes were coming out from the sides.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Rain check on that flute lesson, Em," Mike smiled to her, "Something came up."

"What? Are you leaving?"

"For a little while," Mike nodded.

"A little while… like what? Like grocery shopping a little while, or like… not coming back?"

"I wouldn't leave you, Em," Mike assured her.

"Then why are you?" Emily asked him.

"I…"

"Did you get into a fight with Kevin? He'll cool down!"

"He'll cool down for like a day or two, but then he'll just blow up again. I'm not like you, Emily. People don't like me! I rub everyone the wrong way, especially in here."

"I like you," Emily touched his arm, "You can work this out."

"Please understand, Em, I'm leaving them, I'm not leaving you. You can call me every day, and when you get days off, we can meet up. I'll come as close as I can to this place so you don't have to travel. But I can't stay here. It's better for everyone."

"I want to come with you, then," Emily said with authority in her voice, which caught Mike off guard.

"What?"

"I want to come with you and make sure you come back," Emily repeated.

"I can't let you do that," Mike shook his head. "This is your duty. You can't abandon your friends."

"And you can?" Emily asked. She rushed back over to the table and grabbed her flute. "We'll leave for today, but we're coming back, okay?"

"You'll get in trouble."

"I don't care," Emily said, "We're all a team Mike. Everyone here needs you… and you're my best friend."

"I…" Mike didn't want her to come. He knew how it would look to Kevin, Mia and Jayden if he brought her along with him. He had no intention of coming back for them. He didn't stay where he wasn't welcome, and it was very obvious that he wasn't welcome at the Shiba House. He didn't want them to think any worse of him than they already did.

He knew it was dangerous to run off, away from the team. The Nighloks knew who he was. Separating, at any time, was dangerous. Emily was safer at home, with the others. Everyone knew that.

"You have to stay."

"Only if you do."

Mike groaned and turned to the door. He could hear Emily's footsteps following him. He hurried up his pace and rushed to the door. Before Emily could catch up, he closed it behind him and ran off.

Emily growled under her breath when she opened the door and saw Mike was nowhere in sight, but she wasn't a quitter. She was going to bring him home.

She set her flute down on the ground and pulled out her samuraizer. In the air, she traced a symbol - find. When she flipped it, it sped off, following Mike's trail. Emily took off after it. Soon she would catch up to him.


	19. Where Forest Meets Earth

Mia lifted the clean dish out of the water and smiled. She had always been good at washing dishes. It was no surprise with the way she cooked. She had mastered the skill of scrapping off burnt food from the bottom of anything so naturally it was easier for her to clean dishes that had cooked food properly.

She handed the wet dish to Kevin and noticed he was looking at her. She blushed.

"What?"

"You really are special, Mia," he told her.

"I… thank you," Mia turned a darker shade of pink, "what brought that on?"

"The way you calmed me down, earlier," Kevin told her. He took the dish and set it down in the sink. "Not many people can change my mind so quickly. It usually takes a while. That might be why Mike and I still butt heads."

"The trick is to get you to change your own mind," Mia smirked. "We just compromised. You don't have to stop keeping an eye on Mike; you just have to let them do their own thing."

"You're still amazing."

"Thanks," Mia nodded. She finished with the last of the dishes and turned to the plate of pancakes still sitting on the table. No one had interrupted her breakfast with Kevin, which she was thankful for, but she began to wonder where everyone was.

Mentor Ji was usually a rather mysterious man. He could disappear for days on end, and then reappear suddenly and act as if he had never been missing. Mia could only assume this was because he was watching the Rangers when they didn't know and figured he used elements in their daily lives to come up with new and effective training practices. It seemed creepy, and felt rather creepy when she first thought about it, but she knew she was living in his home, as long as the bedrooms and bathrooms were off-limits, she couldn't complain.

She looked out the window and saw Jayden was still outside training. He had been working hard ever since the bomb went off. Mia still hadn't figured out what exactly was causing this. Jayden was normally a hard worker, but even he knew the value of breaks. Still, she trusted Jayden wouldn't put his health at risk, and he would eat when he got hungry.

"Do you mind putting the pancakes away?" Mia asked Kevin as she pulled away from the sink, "I'll go see if Mike and Emily are hungry."

"Probably a good idea," Kevin nodded, "I'm sure Mike won't want to see my face for a few days."

"Try centuries," Mia laughed. Over breakfast Kevin had run over what had happened between him and Mike. That was something she loved about her relationship with Kevin. They both felt like they could talk about anything. They were so open and honest. It was refreshing to know there was someone who was always ready to listen and who would never judge. "Maybe you can try apologizing when Mike comes in. You know nothing big. Just a general _I'm sorry_."

"I'll try."

Mia put away the dish cloth and walked to the common room. It was empty but Mia wasn't too surprised. Mike was most likely sulking in his room, and Emily had probably gone to check up on him. She started making her way to the boys' bedroom when she caught sight of Emily's flute case and music sheets on the yellow Ranger's stool. She frowned and wondered to herself how Emily could be so careless with her instrument. Thinking it had rolled off the stool or the table, Mia bent over to pick it up.

The flute was nowhere on the floor.

"Maybe she went to play for Mike…" she muttered to herself. She couldn't hear any music anywhere in the house but she calmed her nerves by telling herself that the flute was a wind instrument, and Emily needed to inhale at some point when she played.

She walked over to Mike and Kevin's room and knocked on the door. She was surprised once again when the door creaked open and the room was empty. She took a step inside. Kevin's half of the room was clean and tidy, as she expected. Everything had a place.

Mike's side of the room was a disaster. Clothes were thrown everywhere and drawers were pulled from the desk and the dresser. Mia could only imagine Mike had lost his temper and let it out on his personal belongings.

"At least he didn't attack anyone," Mia said to herself before a thought occurred. Emily was still missing. It was possible she was in her bedroom, but that didn't sound like the Emily she knew. If Mike had been upset with Kevin in the kitchen, he would have had to walk right past Emily. She would have noticed, and if she didn't follow him right away, she would have eventually come to check up on him. Mike wasn't capable of violent anger against one of his best friends, but stranger things had happened in the life of a Samurai.

Mia rushed over to her bedroom, hoping to find Emily in there. Nothing. The room was exactly how she had left it when she woke up. She walked over to the window and saw Jayden was still outside training alone. She left the room and made her way to the training mat.

"Have you seen Mike and Emily?"

Jayden shook his head, "Haven't seen anyone all day. Did you try the bedrooms?"

Mia bit her lip and rushed back inside the house. There was another door.

"Mike! Emily!" she shouted to the outdoors and she looked around for any signs of human life. Still nothing. She muttered under her breath, "I'm going to kill those two…"

When she turned around to head back inside, she felt her foot hit something. She looked down to see what it was and gasped. It was Emily's flute.

Emily would never leave her flute lying around on the ground. Mia had never heard or seen Emily play, but she had heard Emily's stories regarding the flute. She knew how much Emily cherished it. It reminded her of home and of her sister, and it was the only thing Emily could find comfort in when she was really feeling down – with the exception of Mike.

"Emily!" Mia screamed again, hoping her friend was still within ear shot. She jumped off the small patio and stepped further away from the house, "Emy!"

In the kitchen and on the other side of the house, Kevin and Jayden could hear Mia calling for Emily. They both stopped what they were doing and rushed out to find Mia.

"What happened?" Jayden asked as he ran up behind Mia. She turned around and showed both boys Emily's flute.

"Neither of them are inside the house," she said, "I came out here and I found her flute."

"Emily wouldn't leave it lying around," Kevin stated.

"What about Mike?" Jayden asked.

"I check the bedrooms," Mia shook her head, "His side was a mess…"

"It always is," Kevin groaned.

"I guess… but this was a bad mess," Mia said, "I think he's gone."

"Let's not jump to conclusions…"

"Jayden, every time things don't go his way, Mike takes off," Kevin said.

"Not to mention the fact that they aren't anywhere here," Mia added. "I checked everywhere. Unless they're both in the bathroom…"

"We would have heard a flush or something by now."

"And Emily wouldn't drop her flute on the ground," Jayden nodded. He turned back to the house, "We'll check the map. If they still have their Samuraizers on them we can figure out where they disappeared too."

-Samurai-

"Mike!" Emily called before receiving a branch of leaves in her face. She pushed it aside and hurried along through the forest. Mike wasn't too far ahead of her anymore. She knew that if she called his name enough, he would hear her and stop. "Michael!"

He stopped and turned, hearing his full name. No one called him by his full name unless they were completely serious or he was in trouble. He spotted Emily not too far away and groaned. He knew an unlocked door wouldn't stop her, but he didn't think she would actually follow him all this way out. Not alone anyways.

He waited for her to catch up. He didn't want her out here with him, away from the other Rangers, but he would never leave her behind, especially when she was alone.

"You came after me."

"How else am I going to make sure you come home?" Emily nodded. "Where exactly are you going?"

"I don't know," Mike shrugged. "I can't go home. I'm still a Ranger and that would mean putting my friends in danger…"

"So come back with us. We'll work through whatever issues you have with Kevin! Maybe he just takes a little warming up."

"It's been months," Mike frowned, "The guy's already got a girlfriend; how much more warming up does he need?"

He turned and continued his walk to nowhere. The sound of leaves crunching in the forest behind him told him Emily was walking with him.

"He's probably worried about you," she said sweetly. She hoped that if she could convince Mike that the others did like him he would come home, but Mike scoffed.

"He's probably more worried about you," Mike started without thinking. "If you really cared about me, you would have let me come out here on my own. It's always your fault he's pissed at me anyways."

Emily stopped walking, "What do you mean?"

"It's because of you I can't seem to do anything right in his eyes! Or anyone else's!" Mike shouted. He didn't know what was pushing him to say this. There was just something about what Emily said about Kevin that got under Mike's skin. If the older Ranger really cared for him, he wouldn't have been scolding him every other day. "Just go home, Em…"

Emily wiped her eyes before the tears fell. The only person who could make her cry had struck again, but she was going to be strong. He needed to come home.

"Not without you," she knew her voice sounded hurt, but she hoped that could play on Mike's emotions.

"Maybe in a few days I'll change my mind, but you need to get lost. Everyone is pissing me off right now."

"Mike…"

"Go home!" he screamed at her. Emily jumped back in terror.

Mike didn't want her to run, especially when he watched her take a few steps back. He needed her out here. She was his only chance of returning home. She was the only person who would be able to change his mind. But this was always how things turned out when he got angry or upset. He lashed out and hurt innocent people. It was usually the people he cared about the most.

He heard a light sob and his fists clenched. Now he was angry at himself. This never worked in his favour either. He was worse when he hated himself.

In her hurt, Emily lost her sense of direction. She couldn't remember which way she had come from. She wasn't like Mike in the forest. This wasn't her element. All her brain wanted to do was get away from Mike before he hurt her again. Choosing any direction at random, she turned to run.

When Mike saw her take off on her own in the wrong direction, guilt washed over him. He never wanted Emily to be alone. No one except for him and Mentor Ji had ever ventured into this forest. It was vast and anyone, including Emily, could easily be lost for days.

"Emily!" he called after her, hoping she would stop.

She did slow down when she heard her name and she quickly glanced over her shoulder at Mike. This was enough time for her foot fall awkwardly on a rock, which slipped out from under her and pushed her to the side. Emily fell and hit the ground hard. She rolled for a moment before her body was thrown over the edge of the ravine. Mike launched himself forward to catch her, but just missed her hand.

"Emily!" he called when she saw her hit the ground below. He cursed. There was nothing below he could manipulate with his symbol power. No grass, no leaves, no trees and no roots. It was all rock and ground.

With no one around to help, Mike knew he needed to climb down. It wasn't too far to go, only about eight feet, but climbing down and up was risky, especially if Emily wasn't okay.

He sat on the ledge and was about to start his climb when he heard familiar voices calling for him and Emily. He jumped back up. It was help.

"You'll be okay, Em," Mike assured her, though he wasn't sure she would hear him. She hadn't moved at all since she hit the ground. Mike followed the calls of his friends until he spotted them on the trail he and Emily had made.

"Guys!" he called to them as he appeared.

"Mike!" Mia seemed relieved to see him as she ran over and pulled him into a hug. Mike wrapped one arm around her before pushing her away. He didn't have good news.

"I need your help…"

"Where's Emily?" Mia asked, concerned for her friend.

"That's the…"

"Mike…" Kevin growled until Jayden grabbed his arm. He didn't know what was going on between blue and green, but now wasn't the time.

"I take full responsibility," Mike said, "And you can beat me up when you get home but Emily's…"

"Where is she?" Jayden asked.

Without another word Mike took off to the ravine. Jayden, Kevin and Mia followed him. They came to a sudden stop when they saw the ground dropped off.

"Watch it," Mike called and help his arms out to keep his friends from falling. Mia dropped to her knees when she saw Emily at the bottom.

"Emily, are you okay?"

"She hasn't moved," Mike said, "You guys have to help me get her."

"I'm so going to kill you when we get home," Kevin growled to Mike.

"Get in line," Mia said.

Jayden didn't have time for arguing. He looked around and noticed Mike was wearing a back pack. He grabbed the boy and ripped the bag off his shoulders.

Mike, thinking Jayden was going to attack him, coward away, "Dude, later!"

Jayden got the bag off Mike and ripped it open. He pulled out shirts, pants, jackets and games. He grumbled. There had to be something more useful.

Then he remembered this was one of the bags that Mentor Ji gave each of the Rangers when they arrived. Jayden was sure that Mentor had filled the outside pockets with some survival equipment.

He ripped open the side pocket, destroying it, and pulled out a long rope, "Good old Mentor." He tossed the rope to Mia, "Tie that around yourself. We'll lower you down."

Mia did as instructed. She was the lightest and would be the easiest to lift back up, even with Emily's added weight (not that it was much).

When the rope was secure, Mia was lowered into the ravine. Her feet touched the ground and she dropped beside Emily, trying to wake her friend up.

"Emily, are you okay?" she tapped her cheek gently. Emily stirred and Mia heard a moan, but the young samurai didn't open her eyes.

"Before we lift her, make sure she's okay to move," Jayden called down. Mia nodded and ran her hands along Emily's body, trying to feel, to the best of her abilities, for any broken bones or serious injuries. Emily seemed fine. She called up to the boys and held Emily in her arms so they could both be lifted back up to safe grounds.

It wasn't an enjoyable ride up. Mia had to use her arms to keep a hold on Emily. Several times she hit the side of the ravine and she couldn't shield herself. She always turned herself and Emily so she would take the impact. As a result, the sides of her face and body were scratched.

When the girls were close to the top, Kevin pulled them both up. Mia set Emily down and was quickly looked over by a worried Kevin.

Mike walked over to Emily, but Jayden cleared his throat. He lowered his head and stepped back.

"Jayden…"

"What happened?" Jayden asked. "Why the hell would you both go running off like that?"

"It's not her fault," Mike said, "It was all me. I take full responsibility. I ran off and she followed me. I told her not to… I didn't want her to leave you guys.

Jayden shot Mike a disappointed look before he knelt down and scooped Emily up in his arms.

"We'll talk later," he said to the green Ranger before he walked off.

"Are you okay?" Kevin asked Mia. She nodded her head.

"I am."

"We'll clean you up at home," Kevin said. He placed his hand on the small of her back and gently guided her back home.

Mike lowered his head and followed his team. He really wasn't good at this '_doing the right thing'_ thing. No matter what he did, someone always got hurt.


	20. Waking Up

Mike jumped to his feet when he saw the bedroom door opened. Kevin and Jayden both stepped out. On the other side of the door, Mike knew Emily was being looked after by everyone. He wanted to be in there with her, but the room was only so big, and the others weren't letting him in.

"Is she okay?" he asked. He didn't care what the guys did to him, as long as he knew Emily was fine. He knew it was his fault she was in the forest in the first place. If he hadn't of run, she wouldn't have followed him. He felt so guilty, and it would only be worse if Emily was really hurt.

"We'll know when she wakes up," Jayden answered while Kevin continued to glare at him with an angry, disappointed look.

"She will wake up?"

"Eventually," Jayden said. By now it was obvious he was speaking because Kevin wouldn't be able to keep his cool. He never could around Mike, especially when Mike screwed up this badly. "She hit her head somewhere in the fall. But Mentor's confident she'll be okay."

"That's good," Mike sighed with relief and fell back onto his stool. "I guess you'll want to take my samuraizer again?"

"Why would we do that?" Jayden asked. "We're already down a Ranger. We can't afford to lose another."

"But I screwed up…."

"Grow up, Mike," Kevin scoffed and Mike once again jumped to his feet.

"I'm tired of you!" he shouted and lunged forward. He was stopped by Jayden who grabbed him and shoved him back down on the stool. Mike looked up at the blue Ranger, "It's because of you I left."

"Are you saying this is my fault?" Kevin asked incredulously. "It's my fault you were stupid enough to run off and send Emily down a ravine?"

"That was my bad, and I owned up to it," Mike growled, "You seriously need to get your own life, man! You think everything I do is wrong, and you're not ashamed to tell me!"

"Guys…" Jayden called. He had to break this up, but Mike and Kevin weren't listening.

"She's sixteen…"

"I know that!" Mike nodded, "I know her better than anyone else here, and I respect her a hell of a lot more than you do."

"Yeah," Kevin shook his head, "Respect. Is that what you're calling it?"

"Guys…"

"I care for her, Kevin. I care for her a lot. I've never met someone like her! She understands me and I understand her! We're friends. That's it! Unlike the Mike inside your head, I've never once tried to hit on her or anything like that! I'm just trying to make her happy! Keep her spirits up, you know!"

"You only need to keep them up because you keep knocking them down!" Kevin shouted.

"She's young, she's a replacement, she's less experienced and she took the place of her dying sister! I wouldn't be able to smile at all if I was in that position," Mike growled. At this point, he and Kevin were only inches apart. Jayden finally cut in by pushing them apart and standing between them.

"This is not how a Samurai behaves," he was scolding both of them. They were acting like children. He didn't need children on his team. He needed friends. People who got along and people who cared about each other. He looked them both in the eye, "Apologise to each other."

"I'm sorry?" Kevin asked as he shot his leader a strange look, "You think apologizing is just going to make everything go away?"

"Apologize to your friend, Kevin," Jayden restated with more force in his voice. "Mike may be a screw up, but I think everyone here except for you has seen that there are some areas in his life where he excels and you are not the person who needs to remind him of his own flaws. No one has that right. No one here is perfect. We all make mistakes."

Jayden pointed to the bedroom door, "Mike didn't force Emily to follow him. That was her mistake. We can blame Mike for leaving, but that's all he's responsible for," Jayden then placed a hand on Mike's shoulder, "You shouldn't judge your best friend for something he hasn't done yet. There's no reason why you should worry about Mike hurting Emily. We all get that you care for her like a sister and it's noble of you to want to protect her, but you're protecting her from the wrong guy. Mike has never given you a reason not to trust him. In fact, he's given you plenty of reasons on why you should trust him."

Kevin lowered his head and Mike took a step towards him.

"C'mon, dude. We're stuck with each other until we defeat Master Xandred. Don't you think we should at least try to get along and maybe be best buds? I mean, Jayden's an awesome guy, but no one's as big a challenge in video games as you."

Kevin chuckled. It was true. Jayden wasn't as good at him on the game console. It was probably the only thing Kevin knew he could do better than Jayden, even without much effort. He was always trying to live up to his leader, and sometimes it was nice to remember that Jayden wasn't perfect. In training, whenever he was beaten by Jayden, it would always be a blow to his ego. He would never feel like he was good enough. He would always need more practice. And Jayden was constantly improving.

He looked at Mike. The green Ranger always got under his skin, but that was because the green Ranger was just a lazier version of himself. Mike was always trying to live up to Kevin and Jayden, but he was never quite as good. The only advantage he had, that Kevin didn't, was that Mike always seemed to improve almost effortlessly. He was able to coast his way through training, and actually gain the skills he needed. It was painful for Kevin to watch, because he was jealous.

"I… I'm sorry, man," Kevin nodded, "You just piss me off. Sometimes I lose it and let you have it."

"Sometimes?" Mike laughed but he was silenced by Jayden. "Uh, I mean sorry, dude. I'm not sure what I'm sorry for… but I do want us to be friends. I know you hate my guts, but all brothers hate each other, right?"

Kevin smiled and nodded, "Yeah, all brothers do."

"Friends? Again?" Mike asked.

"Yeah," Kevin laughed.

"Good," Jayden sighed, "Keep it that way. Let's see if you two can actually make it a week before you jump down each other's throats."

He then turned to Mike. He may have patched things up between blue and green, but he still had to deal with Mike's running away. No matter what reasons Mike had, it was a stupid, careless move, and Jayden was counting himself lucky that one of the two Rangers who left came home unharmed. Nighloks were nasty creatures and they didn't care who they hurt or when they hurt them. By leaving, Mike had put everyone at risk.

"Mike, there's one area about you where I have to side with Kevin," Jayden started, "You need to grow up."

"I know…"

"Do you know how stupid it was?" Jayden asked, "Do you know how stupid it was to run away like that? Without telling anyone and letting another Ranger come with you. You put yourself in danger; you put Emily in danger…"

"Mia was pretty dangerous when she realised you two were gone," Kevin pointed out. "There was no stopping her from tracking you guys down and… you might be lucky she's distracted with Emily. She was going to brutally murder you two for worrying her."

Jayden nodded his head, "And what if a Nighlok attacked the city?" he asked Mike. "Would you have come to help us?"

Mike shrugged, "I… I didn't really think about that."

"What if a Nighlok attacked you? Or Emily? Did you know she was following you?"

"Not really… no…"

"The only smart thing you did, Mike, was take your Samuraizer. Imagine if you hadn't of taken it and something happened," Jayden said. "Imagine if we needed you and we couldn't reach you. What would you have done if Emily fell down the ravine and we weren't there to help you?"

"I don't know."

"And you're never going to find out," Jayden said. Mike looked up curiously. Judging by Jayden's tone, that sounded more like a threat than a statement of relief. Jayden continued, "From now on, until you've learned that running doesn't solve anything, you're not allowed to leave these grounds unless there's an attack. I don't care if it's a day off, you're staying in this house so we know where you are, is that understood?"

Mike nodded his head, "Yes."

"And, as an added bonus," Jayden walked over to the TV and picked up Mike's game station. He unplugged it completely, "This is coming with me. I'm not allowing you to stay home and play video games, and apparently I need a lot of practice."

"Dude!"

"Find some other way to pass the time, Mike," Jayden shook his head and walked off to put the game console in his room. Mike dropped his head. He didn't know what was worse: being grounded, or having his video games taken away.

"Don't worry about Jayden getting better," Kevin chuckled, "He's way too busy actually training to waste his time playing games. Ever since the bomb, that's all he's been doing."

"I guess I wasn't going to be playing much anyways," Mike nodded. He stood back up, "Maybe I should go check up on Emily."

Kevin let out a long sigh before he agreed, "It might be best. You… you are her best friend, even if Mia would disagree."

"Speaking of Mia… would you mind pulling her out of the room for me?" Mike asked. "I mean, I'm scared of you and Jayden beating me up over this… but I know I can take it… I've never been beaten up by a girl before."

"Outside of training," Kevin added with a laugh and Mike had to nod in agreement. "I'll get her out."

"And Mentor?" Mike begged as Kevin started making his way over. The blue Ranger turned and Mike added, "I've kinda got something to say to Emily about something that happened in the forest… it's personal…"

"You realise she still is out cold, right?" Kevin asked.

"I know."

Kevin shrugged and disappeared into the girls' bedroom for a while. Mike waited. He was most likely trying to convince Mia to leave Emily's side for a little while. For as long as Mike had known Mia, she had always had a soft side for Emily. The two girls had formed a very quick bond, almost as soon as they had seen each other they were like sisters. Emily had already told him that she looked up to Mia in almost the same way she did Serena. So it wasn't a surprise when Mia started behaving like an older sister, especially to Emily. There was something about the yellow Ranger that made everyone want to protect her.

But finally, Mia, Kevin and Mentor Ji stepped out of the bedroom. Kevin held the door open for Mike and let the green Ranger in without another word. However, when Mike walked in, he saw Mentor followed him. His body language told Mike he simply wanted to talk.

"Emily will be fine," he assured Mike, "her body is resting. I've done all I could for her, now it's up to her to decide when she wants to wake up."

"Thanks, Mentor."

"I take it Jayden's already spoken to you?"

"Yeah."

Mentor Ji nodded and walked out, leaving Mike alone with Emily. Mike sat down on the end of the bed, as there was nowhere else for him to sit. He looked over at Emily. She had a bandage wrapped around her head and a few cuts and bruises, but aside from that, she appeared fine, almost peaceful.

"You got me home," he laughed, thinking it would keep him from feeling guilty. "I, uh… I just wanted to apologize for what I said in the forest… about this being your fault and stuff. I'm kind of stupid, so most of the stuff that comes out my mouth isn't actually backed up by facts or anything."

Mike shifted uneasily. He had never spoken to someone who wouldn't respond back. It was weird holding up the entire conversation. At least if Emily responded through facial expressions he would feel like he wasn't alone. But she couldn't even do that.

"I'm sorry for running off, too. I realise it was kind of stupid of me. Especially when I knew you were going to follow me. I was just too focused on myself to really care and… I wish it hadn't of happened. I know it's my fault, and I know I don't really deserve anything good right now, but please wake up soon and tell Mentor you're okay. I couldn't live with myself if I knew you were hurt because of me. I'm already finding it really hard."

He lowered himself onto the bed so he was lying down and staring up at the ceiling. He took Emily's hand in his and kissed it.

"We're not going to leave you alone, okay?" he told her. "I'm not going to leave. Take your time, make sure you get better, but wake up soon."

Mike continued to hold her hand and rubbed it very gently as he stared up at the ceiling. Years passed, or so it seemed, before he heard a noise. He craned his neck so could look up at Emily. Her face twitched and Mike could feel her hand moving in his. He smiled when her eyes fluttered open and she looked down at him.

"Did I blow up again?" she asked.

"Something like that," Mike nodded as he sat up. He crawled over alongside the bed until he was sitting right beside Emily, "You kinda fell and hurt yourself."

Emily nodded slowly as her memories of the event came back. Mike couldn't help but grin as he watched her, happy she seemed fine. He knew she had taken more than her fair share of falls as a kid and while she always seemed to bounce right back, he still worried about her.

"I'm always doing that," Emily commented.

"It was my fault this time," Mike assured her.

Emily shook her head, "I followed you."

"And I yelled at you," Mike nodded. He squeezed her hand, "I'm really sorry. You're the last person I ever wanted to hurt, especially with lies."

Emily smiled before sitting up and launching herself into Mike's arms and wrapping him in a hug. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was beating himself up over this. She wanted him to know that he didn't have to. It had hurt when he had first said those words, but she had hoped he didn't mean them, and on some level, she knew they weren't true. He had been so angry and frustrated with Kevin that he needed someone to lash out at. She knew someone had to be there to take the hit.

Mike had been surprised when Emily hugged him, but he didn't question it at all. He was happy he had her forgiveness and hugged her back, but he knew he still had to make it up to her, and the rest of the team. He was going to stay, even when things were too difficult, and he was going to be a better Samurai and Ranger. He wanted to earn his team's respect and he wanted them to know that he would never leave any of them again. He had always been loyal to his friends. Loyal to a fault.

Suddenly, Emily pulled away and turned to her night table where her flute was sitting. Mia had put it there when she came home, thinking it best to return it to Emily before it was damaged. Emily grabbed the instrument and handed it to Mike.

"Do you want to learn?"

"Should you be playing the flute right now?" Mike asked her, "Isn't breathing kind of important after a head injury."

"Yeah, but that's why you're going to play," Emily smiled and Mike couldn't resist. He took the flute from her, but he had no idea how to hold it. Emily guided it to his lips and put his hands into position.

"We'll start easy," she said, "One note at a time, starting with C."

"Why not A?"

"I'm the master," Emily chuckled. She readjusted Mike's hands for the C and nodded, "Now just blow gently."

Mike blew and Emily cringed. It was off, even he could tell, but Emily didn't give up. She nodded her head, giggled, and shifted his fingers into the position for D.

"You'll get the hang of it," she told him. "Then maybe you can play for me."


	21. In the Bedroom

After he was taught the basics, Mike wanted to try his hand playing the song Emily was working on. He had loved it when she played it for him and he really wanted to learn it. It would probably be a while before Emily was back on her feet, especially with the team so worried about her all the time. While she was recovering, he hoped he would be able to play it for her and keep her entertained.

But Emily had fallen asleep towards the start of the lesson, leaving Mike alone to practice. He wasn't normally the kind of guy who stuck to something for hours, but he couldn't put the flute down; for more reasons than one.

First, he loved how it brought him and Emily closer together. Not that they were lacking shared interests or compatibility. He just loved being able to do something she truly loved with her, instead of training or playing his video games. Second, he loved the way she laughed every time he messed up a note and caused the flute to make a high pitch whistle. It hurt his ears and it was far from being a beautiful sound, but it made Emily laugh, that was all he wanted.

Finally, Emily had fallen asleep with her head in Mike's laugh and he was afraid of moving and waking her up. She wasn't waking up when he hit the off-pitch notes, but he really didn't want to gamble. She needed the rest to recover, and he loved to watch her sleep.

The door opened, without a knock, so Mike could only assume it was Mia. He turned slightly and offered her a smile. She hadn't yelled at him yet for running off. He knew he had scared her, especially because Emily had run with him. Mia was very protective of everyone on the team and hated to see them hurting. She would usually go out of her way to try and make everyone feel better, even if it meant a little sacrifice.

"Dinner's almost ready," Mia told him, "Are you coming out anytime soon?"

"I can't," Mike chuckled and he pointed to the sleeping Emily. Mia closed the door and walked over to the bed.

"Are you hiding in here because you know I won't yell at you in front of her?" she asked teasingly. She wasn't going to yell at Mike. When they first brought Emily home she really wanted to yell, scream and break him for running off. But while keeping her distance from him, she started to calm down. She knew Jayden and Kevin already had a few words with him, and it would be useless to yell at him anymore. Instead, she was just thinking of sharing a few kind words of warning with him.

"I can't leave her," Mike shook his head. "It's my fault she's here and I just want to make sure she's comfortable, you know?"

"I know," Mia nodded. She took a seat on the bed, careful not to sit on Emily. "You know, we were all pretty worried."

"I know, Emily has that effect on people," Mike said.

"I meant both of you, silly," Mia laughed. "We were pissed off when you both ran off, and Kevin and I did say some nasty things about both of you, but that's only because we were worried something happened."

"You don't have to talk to me about Kevin," Mike said, "We've already patched things up. We're friends again… again."

"Well, before you ran off, I did get him to calm down," Mia looked down at Emily and brushed her hair out of her face, "I know you're a bit of a screw up, but you never try to be. I've seen the way you look at her. You don't want to hurt her, do you?"

"Never," Mike shook his head. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt Emily. Unfortunately, he couldn't say he never had. He had done so a few times already. Nothing made him feel worse than knowing he made her feel like she wasn't as amazing as she was. And that didn't apply only to the times he hurt her. It was anytime she felt pain. He always wanted to look out for her when they were fighting Nighloks and Moogers. Even when he had been caught in that explosion with her and Jayden, he was only worried about her. The only thing he could think about was how Emily was feeling and if she would be okay. "I could never hurt her, Mia."

"Good," Mia smiled, "Because I convinced Kevin to back off and let you two do what you wanted to do; whether it's friendship or more. That doesn't mean we're okay with it. She is underage…"

"I know."

"I know you do," Mia nodded. She touched Mike's leg, "So, everything's okay? With you and Kevin, I mean?"

"Yeah," Mike smiled, "We're good. We're brothers, we're going to fight, but I think we've both realised that we need each other. I mean, who's going to wake me up in the morning when we need to train?"

"That's good," Mia sighed with relief, "because I did not want to have to play middle-man between you two. Not to mention your room is on the other side of the wall, and Emily and I both like sleeping in peace."

"She doesn't seem to mind the high-pitch squeal of the flute," Mike chuckled.

Mia shot him a look and teasingly, she laughed, "That was the flute? I thought you were strangling a flock of birds or something."

"Shut up, I'm trying," Mike shook his head.

"No, I'm relieved," Mia continued, "I heard Emily laughing and I thought I had some psychotic room-mate."

"Have you ever played the flute? It's not as easy as it seems?"

"I'm not touching that spit catcher," Mia crossed her arms, "It makes beautiful music, but there is no way that thing is ever going near my lips."

"Suit yourself," Mike smirked. Mia gently punched his arm before she got up. Her stomach was starting to tell her it was hungry, and she remembered the reason she came into her room in the first place.

"How are you going to eat dinner if you're not getting up?"

Mike shrugged his shoulders before looking at Mia and trying to give her the sweetest look he could muster, "Maybe you'll bring it in here for me."

Mia shook her head, "Are you kidding? I don't even let Emily eat in here, and this is her room! Plus, I just washed those sheets."

Mike pointed to Emily, "But she's sleeping. You don't want to wake her, do you?"

"Mike?"

"Look at her sleeping face," Mike gestured to Emily's face. He knew Mia was going to cave. Women were programmed to cave for cute.

Mia rubbed her temples, "It was a bad night to suggest tacos…"

"Please! I'll use a plate tonight!"

The pink Ranger sighed, "Fine, but if I see any cheese or salsa on this bed, the floor… or Emily, you're cleaning this entire room."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Mia shot him a look.

"I mean," Mike cough, "Yes, Mia, whatever you say, oh beautiful pink Ranger."

"That's more like it," Mia laughed.

She left the room shaking her head. If there was anything Mike was good at, it was kissing up.

She arrived in the kitchen alone. No Mike and certainly no Emily.

"What took you?" Kevin asked her. "The food's getting cold."

"Sorry. Emily's still asleep and Mike's afraid of waking her up. I'm going to bring the plate over to him."

"When is Emily going to eat?" Jayden asked. "We can't let her starve. We're going to send her back to her parents in worse condition than when we took her."

Mia grabbed both Mike and Emily's plates from the table and she put the smaller one in the fridge for Emily to eat later.

"I'm sure she'll eat when she's hungry," she said before leaving to give Mike his dinner.

Kevin smiled and looked at Jayden once Mia was out of earshot, "Isn't she great?"

Jayden put down his taco. He was all for the Rangers having a relationship, as long as they kept up with their training and they didn't let their feelings get in the way of their Ranger duties. But that didn't mean he wanted to hear his blue Ranger go on about pink.

"She's so caring," Kevin continued, "So thoughtful… so nice and sweet and…"

"I have a strong stomach," Jayden commented, "but please: stop."

"Sorry," Kevin laughed. He watched as Jayden finished his taco and started collecting his stuff from the table.

"Are you going to train?" he asked. Jayden nodded.

"You're welcome to join me," he answered. "It's should be light out for another few hours."

"Thanks for the invite, but I think I'm okay," Kevin nodded. He shifted in his seat so he was looking at Jayden, "Haven't you been training all day, anyways. Even I know the value of time off."

"After everything that's been happening lately, I would feel better knowing I was one step ahead of Master Xandred."

"I'm sure you're good," Kevin assured his leader. "You're the best there is. Everyone knows that. Even you know that. Unless you're trying to prove that even the great can improve, you should take a night off."

"Not going to happen," Jayden grabbed his training sword and headed for the training mats. Kevin managed to stop him before he left the kitchen.

"Is this about the Moogers?" he asked. Mia had her suspicions about Jayden, and she had passed them on to Kevin. The blue Ranger was aware of Jayden's constant training schedule, especially after the explosion, but now he was really starting to see how excessive it was.

"We should have been able to stop them," Jayden's grip tightened around his sword. "I still don't know what the hell they wanted, or why they didn't just finish us off when they had the chance. Something tells me they had a plan. I can't rest until I know I can stop them."

"They're just Moogers," Kevin shrugged, "I don't see what's so dangerous, really. Personally, I like a good Mooger fight."

"Because they're easy to beat," Jayden agreed. He looked down at his feet and sighed. Kevin furrowed his brow.

"Jayden… are you upset?" he asked. He had never really seen much emotion coming from Jayden. There was the occasional smile, but aside from that, the man was very closed off. No one really knew Jayden very well. The only thing they knew for sure was that they could trust him with anything.

"Those Moogers beat me," Jayden said.

"They beat the three of you," Kevin nodded, "And to be fair, they had a bomb. It's not like you guys are bomb experts and could have diffused it."

"They never should have gotten the chance to plant that bomb in the first place," Jayden growled and Kevin could see the red Ranger's knuckled were white. "Either I led my team right into a trap, and they could have been killed, or Master Xandred got something and we don't know what it is. I can't let that happen again."

"Emily and Mike are fine," Kevin said, "And you were in that explosion as well. If anyone should be feeling guilty here it's me and Mia. We were the ones who left town."

"You had permission," Jayden said. "I gave you my car. You did nothing wrong. I put my team in danger…"

"That's the name of the game," Kevin smiled. He placed his hand on Jayden's shoulder, "C'mon, Jayden, we're all in this together. We win as a team, we lose as a team. You're just the red guy, really."

"I'm the leader. You trust me to keep you guys safe. You guys are trusting me to stop Master Xandred."

"Yeah, we're trusting, but we're not stupid. Have you seen our team lately? We're all making mistakes; constantly. Some of us keep making the same ones over and over again. But that's why we're a team. We cover for each other."

Kevin took the sword from Jayden and set it against the wall, "How about you take the night off? Just tonight. We'll do something fun like beat all of Mike's high scores on all his games or dump the old leftovers in his bed for when he goes to sleep."

"That's fun?"

"You'll know when you see the look on Mike's face," Kevin grinned. He pulled the red Ranger into the common room, trying to think of what to do first.

-Samurai-

Mia didn't stay long after handing Mike his dinner. She gave him his food, checked up on the still sleeping Emily, and left to give the two Rangers privacy. Mike felt a little bad when he wondered if he was keeping Mia away from her own room, but he wasn't going to pass on spending time with Emily.

There wasn't much to do in the girls' bedroom, especially with Emily's head still in his lap and the flute out of reach. The only thing Mike could reach was his now empty dinner plate (he hadn't spilt a single crumb on anything – he was proud), and the bag of peas that had been placed on Emily's head when she first came home. The bag had been popped, though, while Emily slept, and the peas were starting to leak out. With nothing better to do, Mike collected the bag, dumped a few peas in his hand, and began tossing them across the room into Mia's bed.

"No wonder people find me annoying," Mike laughed to himself as he dumped another handful of peas into his hand and started tossing those over to Mia's bed.

Suddenly, Emily screamed and jolted awake, hitting her head right in Mike's stomach. The green Ranger groaned and doubled over while Emily sat up in bed and looked around.

When the pain started to cease, Mike looked up at Emily and saw there were tears streaming down her face. He didn't need to know what had caused them. He pulled her into his arms and held her tight.

"It's okay, you're safe."

"I fell," Emily muttered. She buried her face in his chest.

"You fell once. It's not going to happen again," he assured her with a soft hush.

"I did fall again…"

"It was just a nightmare. You've been here with me for hours. Safe."

He rocked her gently until the sobbing slowed. This was the only thing he knew he could do right every time.

The others burst into the room after hearing Emily's scream, but they stopped at the doorway when they saw Mike comforting her. He chuckled and whispered to them, "Nightmare."

"Is she okay?" Mia asked with concern.

"She's fine. I think it was just a nightmare."

Mia nodded and turned to the boys, "I might stay in here. It's getting late anyways."

"Good night," Kevin said as he gave her a kiss. Mike and Jayden both turned away.

"Is it just me, or is that like watching your older siblings kiss?" Mike asked his leader. Jayden wrinkled his nose in agreement.

"That's what that feeling is…"

Kevin rolled his eyes and waved Mike over, "C'mon, let's let the girls sleep."

Mike nodded though he didn't want to let go of Emily. He understood that this was the girls' bedroom, and it should remain that way.

Emily, however, didn't want to let go of his shirt, so Mike didn't get far. Mia saw this and tried to help him out by sitting on the bed beside Emily and taking her into her arms. Emily pulled away from Mike, but looked at him with sad eyes. She knew he wouldn't ever let her fall again. She felt safest with him.

Kevin had also caught the look Emily gave Mike and he sighed, "Maybe, if the girls are fine with it, we can all camp out here? You know, a team that sleeps together, stays together."

"Uh…" Mike started, but Jayden quickly caught Kevin's mistake.

"Actually sleeps."

"Good."

"There are a couple of sleeping bags down the hall," Jayden said. "Kevin and I will grab a couple we'll set ourselves up."

"I don't care where the rest of you sleep," Mia said as she walked to her bed, confident Mike would take care of Emily for the night, "I'm keeping my own bed."

Without looking, she sat in her bed and reached for the blankets. Suddenly, she could feel little bead-like objects rolling around her butt and legs. Looking down, she noticed her bed was flooded with green peas. With a glare, she looked at Mike.

"What is this?" she held up a pea.

"Tomorrow's dinner?" Mike smirked.

Mia growled and swept the peas out of her bed. She would have Mike clean them up in the morning. She could hear Mike laughing from Emily's bed and collected a handful to throw at him.

As the peas rained down on him and Emily, Mike cried out, "We've just been pea-ed on!"

He grabbed the blankets and pulled them over him and Emily. This only seemed to irritate Mia further, though in a playful way. When Kevin and Jayden returned to the room with their sleeping bags and pillows, she pointed to the peas on the ground.

"Help me," she mouthed to the boys. Kevin and Jayden exchanged looks, but when they saw Mia through another handful of peas at Mike and Emily, they got the idea.

Under the blankets, Mike and Emily were hiding from the pea attack. They could hear the little legumes hitting the covers, but none were getting through. Mike was holding the blanket over both of them with one hand, while the other held Emily close to him. When he looked down at her to make sure she was okay and having fun, he saw she was gazing up at him. She nestled in closer to him with a smile and closed her eyes to try and sleep again, confident she was safe from nightmares with him around.

Mike grinned and kissed the top of her head while waiting for his friends to stop pea-ing him. They would run out eventually, and then he too could get some sleep after this long day.


	22. Mike's Test

Mike was used to the feeling of guilt. He experienced it time and time again. He wasn't a violent man. He never wanted to hurt anyone, especially the people he cared about, and yet, he always did.

It wasn't like he hurt them physically either. Cuts, bruises, scratches, even broken bones could all heal and disappear within months at most. When Mike hurt someone, he always hurt them in the worst way possible. He broke them down and destroyed them from the inside out. Nothing made him feel worse than knowing he made someone, especially someone he truly cared about, cry.

When he woke up the morning after running away and looked down at his best friend still wrapped tightly in his arms, another wave of guilt washed over him. The bandage had come off her head over the night, and Mike could see traces of blood in her blond hair; blood from when she fell over the edge of the ravine and hit her head. The only reason she fell was him.

The cuts and bruises on her face were a lot more evident now in the morning light than they had been the night before. Many of them looked rather painful, and he knew that was only the tip of the iceberg. There were certainly more cuts and bruises down the rest of her body that most likely hurt just as much, if not more, than the ones on her face. And while all that would heal with time, the memory of her falling down the ravine and him just missing her hand, would forever scar his mind. Not only because it was the one time he didn't catch her, but because it was his fault. There was no one else to blame but him.

_"It's because of you I can't seem to do anything right in his eyes! Or anyone else's! Just go home, Em…"_

_"Not without you."_

_"Maybe in a few days I'll change my mind, but you need to get lost. Everyone is pissing me off right now."_

_"Mike…"_

_"Go home!"_

The look of pain and terror on her face when he yelled at her; the sound of the sob escaping her lips. The way his heart shattered when he knew he had broken hers. She had never done anything wrong to anyone and yet everyone always wanted to wrong her. Everyone always did.

The kids at school, the Nighloks, and him; they had all broken her in so many ways.

And yet, as he continued to look down at her, there was still a smile on her face.

He kissed the top of her head and slowly pulled himself away from her and out of the bed. He readjusted the blankets around her so she wouldn't be cold and looked around the room.

Mia was still sleeping in her bed. Mike could see a few scars on her face and arms from when she went down to rescue Emily. He knew that was his fault as well and he felt terrible, but Mia was okay. When she woke up no one (except maybe Kevin) would worry about her too much. Maybe a few questions on how she was feeling, but nothing more.

Mike looked at the floor. Peas, pillows and sleeping bags covered the hardwood, but Jayden and Kevin were already awake and possibly in the kitchen, or outside training. Either way, Mike knew he had better join them and leave the girls to sleep.

Mentor was in the kitchen making breakfast. Mike didn't feel like talking with Mentor this morning. He probably wasn't going to bring up the events of the day before, considering Mike had already been yelled at by Jayden and Kevin, but Mentor still had that look on his face, the look that told Mike he needed to try harder and think with his head, not his rage.

He slipped past Mentor and stepped outside where he saw Jayden and Kevin were training with their swords. He approached them and was suddenly smacked in the arm by Kevin's sword.

"Ow!" he frowned while he rubbed his arm. Jayden and Kevin put their swords down and looked at Mike.

"That's for the girls," Kevin told him.

"I know," Mike nodded his head, "But I feel bad enough. Do you really have to whack me with a stick?"

"You sent our youngest Ranger over a cliff so that my girlfriend would have to climb down and rescue her," Kevin said, "I think I'm entitled to a little stick slap."

"Just not the head," Mike closed his eyes and braced himself for the pain, "Anymore hits and I might become even more stupid than I already am."

"Not possible," Kevin teased as he picked up his wooden sword and tapped Mike on the top of the head. The green Ranger grunted and rubbed his head once the sword was pulled away.

"Ow."

"That was just for fun," Kevin smirked.

"Are Mia and Emily still sleeping?" Jayden asked as he walked to the bench and picked up his water bottle. Mike nodded his head.

"They were still out when I left. How long have you guys been up training for?"

"A few hours," Jayden answered him. Mike gave his friends a strange look. It was still early in the morning, which meant they must have both been up before the sun.

He shook his head, "You guys are insane."

"We need the extra work," Kevin said. "We're a Ranger down and we still don't know why the Moogers blew up that warehouse. We need to be in top shape in case Master Xandred attacks now."

"We also need to hide our weaknesses," Jayden added. "I have no doubt that we will have to fight a Nighlok without Emily. It will still be a few days before her body is ready to handle the power of the suit and the beating of a Nighlok. Master Xandred is sure to find out that we're missing yellow, and he's going to ask himself why."

"What do you mean?" Mike frowned as he began to worry, "It doesn't matter what Master Xandred thinks, right? Emily's safe as long as she stays here."

"That's what we hope," Jayden nodded. "Our home is isolated, and Mentor has done his best to ensure that it's difficult to find, but we need to keep our guard up at all times. A Nighlok could appear anywhere, at anytime and it's for this reason that we must remain together as much as possible. Nighloks are drawn to us. They know they have to defeat us."

"So if Master Xandred finds out we're down a Ranger," Kevin explained to Mike, "He's going to wonder why. He's also going to know that if he can get Emily alone, she won't have anyone to help her."

Mike gulped. He knew being a Ranger was a dangerous job, but he never realised that his life, and the life of his friends, was constantly being threatened, even at home. But Jayden and Kevin had a point. There were only five Rangers. If four showed up to a battle, that meant there was one Ranger who was alone. While Mike was confident everyone on his team would be able to battle a Nighlok and hold out until help arrived, he didn't want to see anyone get trapped in such a position, especially Emily.

He walked over to the wall and picked up his sword. He turned to Jayden and Kevin.

"I hope you two are ready for a long day of teaching. I have so much to learn."

-Samurai-

"Pst! Mia!"

_Tik._

"Mia!"

_Tik._

"Mia!"

Mia grumbled loudly and sat up, "What?"

Emily dropped her handful of peas, which she had collected from her bed to throw at Mia, and smiled innocently, "Are you awake?"

Mia rolled her eyes. She hated that question, especially when the person asking it expected an answer.

She pulled her blankets over her head and fell back into her pillow, "No."

"But…" Emily frowned, gathered her peas again and once again tossed them, one by one, at Mia, "Mia!"

"I'm sleeping."

Emily tossed another pea. She suppressed a laugh when she saw it bounce off Mia's cheek, "Are you awake now?"

"You know, Emy, normally I would never try to hurt you, but sleepy Mia is a lot more careless than regular Mia."

"So, does that mean you're awake?"

Mia sighed, "Yes... What do you want?"

"I'm hungry… but…" Emily lifted the blankets off her legs and turned her knee slightly. She hadn't noticed this the day before because the painkillers had done their job and her legs had been covered by the blankets since she had woken up, but on the inside of her knee was a large cut. Emily wasn't sure if it had happened when she hit the bottom of the ravine, or when she fell and rolled towards the edge of the ravine. Everything had happened so quickly, she didn't have time to focus on the details.

Mia walked over to her friend's bed and looked down at her knee. She hissed and nodded.

"Yeah, we figured that one would probably hurt."

"I don't want to walk on it," Emily said. "I'm scared of pulling it open."

"There's a bunch of thawed frozen peas you can eat," Mia teased as she looked around the room. She was amazed at just how many little legumes that one bag could contain. There were peas _everywhere_ on the floor and in the bed.

Emily shot her a look and Mia laughed. She offered her hand to the yellow Ranger, "C'mon. Someone's probably already working on something to eat."

She carefully helped her young friend out of bed without putting too much pressure on or moving Emily's knee too much. Once that was done, Mia allowed Emily to use her as a human crutch to walk to the kitchen.

The girls saw Mentor putting the finishing touches on breakfast, but none of the boys were there. Mia sat Emily in her seat and grabbed the two plates Mentor Ji set on the counter for them.

"Good morning," Mentor smiled, "All things considered, I hope you slept well."

"Once Mike stopped snoring we did," Mia nodded. She set the two plates down, one before Emily, and one at her seat, before she took her spot at the table.

"Where are the guys, Mentor?" Emily asked, having not yet looked outside, where Mike, Jayden and Kevin were training intensely. Mentor guided her gaze to the window.

"Jayden and Kevin have been up for hours. Mike joined them a while ago."

"That seems intense," Mia commented as she watched the boys. "I mean, Jayden trains that way all the time, and Kevin's always so focused when he's with Jayden, but…"

"I've never seen Mike fight like that," Emily finished.

Mentor nodded. There were few times when he had seen the green Ranger really focused in training or in battle. Most of those times were when Mike understood his responsibility and worked to live up to it and not let his team down. However, this morning, there seemed to be no stopping Mike. He was definitely giving Kevin and Jayden a run for their money. There was a fire in his eyes, and it only seemed to grow stronger as Mike pressed on.

"You are welcome to join them, Mia," Mentor said to the pink Ranger as she finished her eggs. "With one Ranger down, I fear you will all face some pretty difficult challenges."

"I'll probably be out there for a few hours," Mia nodded.

Mentor looked to Emily, "You should take the next few days off. Let yourself recover before you hurt yourself again.

"I know," Emily nodded sadly. There was no way she was going to be able to train with any of her friends, even if they took it easy with her. Though that didn't mean she liked being benched. She knew she had a lot to work on, and a few days off meant she would fall even further behind.

Mia offered her friend a sympathetic smile, "Hey, when you're all better we'll give you a crash course so you're all caught up. You'll be back up to speed in no time."

Emily smiled, "Thanks, Mia."

The girls finished their breakfast quickly and Mentor cleared their plates. Mia helped Emily out of her seat and the two ventured outside. When they opened the door, the boys stopped their sparring and turned to them.

"Hey, you guys are up," Kevin beamed. He put down his sword and rushed over to help Mia with Emily. Once they set her down on the bench, Kevin gave Mia a quick kiss. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"I'm fine," Mia answered him and then pointed to Emily, "It's this one I'm worried about."

"This one going to vomit if you two keep kissing in my face," Emily gave her two friends a disgusted look. She was happy for them, really, but, like the boys, she saw Kevin and Mia as older siblings, making their relationship seem creepy to her.

"Sorry," Kevin chuckled and looked at Mia, "How about you and me? Jayden's got us training for our next battle. We'll be a Ranger down so we'll need all the training we can get."

"Sounds good," Mia nodded. She grabbed her sword, which was leaning against the wall and she and Kevin took their spots on the mat.

With Kevin and Mia out of the way, Mike approached Emily. He took a seat beside her on the bench and grabbed his bottle. He fiddled with the cap.

"How did you sleep? Anymore nightmares?"

"None I couldn't handle," Emily smiled. She turned to look at Mike, "Thanks for staying with me, yesterday. I really appreciate it."

"Hey, anyone would have done it for you," Mike shrugged while trying not to make it sound like it was a big deal.

"Yeah, but you're the one who did," Emily nodded. She held his hand, "I know it was probably pretty boring when I feel asleep and I don't think you left, because when I woke up you were right there…"

"You kind of feel asleep on my lap," Mike chuckled, "I couldn't leave even if I wanted to."

"Oh… sorry…"

"Emily," Mike smiled and shook his head, "You don't have to apologize for that. I practically pushed you down that ravine myself. Letting you sleep on me doesn't begin to make up for what I did. Besides, I found a way to pass the time."

"What was that?" Emily asked.

"I practiced the flute," it was half-true. For a while after she had fallen asleep, he had practiced the flute. But most of the time she had been asleep, he had watched her, kept his eye on her and worried about her. But he didn't want to tell her that. It could have come across as creepy and he didn't want to scare her.

"Can you actually make a note?" Emily asked with a laugh. Last she heard, Mike was only managing to make a high-pitch whistle come out of her precious instrument.

"Hell no," Mike shook his head. "It's not as easy as it looks."

Jayden walked over, breaking up the conversation between the two Rangers.

"We should get back to our training, Mike," he said before casting a glance at Emily, "How do you feel?"

"Much better. Thanks, Jayden."

Jayden nodded and handed Mike his sword. The green Ranger accepted it and took a long sip of his water before he got up and followed his leader to the mats. Jayden made sure he was far enough away from Emily so she wouldn't hear him talking to Mike. As the two stood, holding up their swords, Jayden smirked.

"So, when are you going to tell her?" he asked as he took a swing. Mike stopped it and frowned.

"Tell who what?"

"You know what I mean," Jayden disarmed Mike and hit him in the ribs. Mike grunted but quickly picked up his sword and readied himself for round two. "Everyone knows what I mean."

"It's not like that, Jay," this time Mike swung first and Jayden barely had any time to react. "We're friends. That's it. I don't want to make her uncomfortable."

"She seemed pretty comfortable in your arms in bed last night," Jayden smirked. Mike dropped his guard, allowing Jayden to sweep the sword under his legs and take him out. Mike hit the ground and laid there for a moment. Jayden stood over him, still smirking. Mike held his head.

"What?"

"Apparently it's a sleep-over rule," Jayden said. "Don't fall asleep first; the other people will take advantage."

"What the hell did you guys do?" Mike touched his face, fearing they had coloured something on it and everyone was in on the joke except for him. Jayden shook his head.

"Nothing like that," he assured the green Ranger, "though that doesn't mean we didn't try. Unfortunately all my old markers dried out years ago."

"Then what did you do?" Mike frowned.

"Let's just say we wanted to get you to stop snoring with a few creative symbols," Jayden smirked. He held out his hand to help Mike back to his feet. "But then Kevin pulled the blankets down and we saw you two were sleeping together… you better be thankful there's a second girl in this house."

"Why…" Mike almost feared the answer to this question.

"Mia thought it was too cute and refused to let us do anything that would disturb you. She did take a lot of pictures and sent then to me and Kevin through her phone," Jayden pulled his phone from his pocket and showed Mike one of the pictures. Mike's expression softened when he saw Emily's face, as it always did. She seemed so comfortable with him, it made him smiled.

Jayden tucked his phone away safely and held up his sword, "As long as you don't let your emotions interfere with your duty, I have no problem with Ranger relationships. Neither does Mentor."

"We're just friends," Mike stated forcefully, trying to get Jayden to believe in something he knew wasn't true.

Jayden, however, wasn't an idiot. He swung at Mike, "So, if a Nighlok does come here while we're locked in a battle, you're not going to run back home?"

"Of course I would," Mike nodded. He ducked under Jayden's attack and rolled to the side, "I would hope you guys plan on doing the same."

"What if there was another Nighlok stopping you?" Jayden asked when he locked swords with Mike. Carefully, he shifted both their positions so that he was standing between Mike and Emily. He lowered his shoulder slightly so Mike could see Emily watching them from her seat on the bench. "What if I was stopping you? Defeat me, and you can help her."

"You would never hurt her," Mike said. Jayden grabbed his samuraizer and traced a fire symbol in the air while never intending to spin it. Mike didn't see that. All he saw was a dangerous symbol in line with Emily and nothing to stop it from hurting her.

He gripped his sword and aimed for Jayden. Any shot would do, as long as nothing hurt Emily.

Jayden knew he had to drop his samuraizer and quickly block Mike's shot if he didn't want to be hit by a painful swing. He had never seen the lazy green Ranger fight with so much power and determination. Nothing was going to stop Mike.

The fight raged on, with Mike clearly holding the advantage. The others had stopped what they were doing and turned to watch, extremely impressed.

Jayden had never felt so threatened while training. Mike was going to defeat him, it was inevitable. It was only a matter of time. Jayden gave it his all, hoping to maybe turn the tables, but it was too late. Mike knocked his sword out of his hands and swung one final time, stopping short of hitting Jayden in the neck. It was then that the fire symbol faded away, and Mike knew Emily was safe.

"I knew it," Jayden whispered to Mike and he fell to his knees.

"Mike, you beat Jayden!" Mia stated the obvious, but her tone told Mike she was extremely impressed and surprised. No one had beaten Jayden as of yet. They had all come close in their own rights, but Jayden always pulled through.

"Jayden, are you okay?" Kevin asked his leader as he walked over and helped the red Ranger to his feet. Jayden nodded and looked at Mike.

"I think we can call that a pass, huh?"

Mia placed her hand on Mike's shoulder, "His symbol power never even touched you!"

"Yeah, me," Mike nodded. He looked over at Emily who was smiling. He could see she was proud of him. He dropped his sword and walked over to her.

Jayden grunted and held his ribs as he, Kevin and Mia watched Mike take a seat beside Emily, "The things I do for you guys."

"Want some ice?" Kevin chuckled. "You're going to have a some nasty bruises in a few hours."


	23. Power Symbol

Jayden pressed the bag of ice against his rib cage, feeling the healing effects of the ice kicking in almost right away. He was a little embarrassed about the outcome of the training session. He had assumed Mike was going to give it his all if he thought Emily was in danger and he readied himself for a few solid blows to actually hit him, but he hadn't expected Mike to beat him. As much as it hurt, Jayden was proud of the progress his team was making. He never thought of them as weak and defenceless, but the stronger they were, they less he needed to worry about them.

"I still can't believe Mike, of all people, was the first to kick Jayden's ass!" Kevin said to Mia as the two walked back outside from the kitchen, where they had both gone to retrieve the first aid kit and a bandage for Jayden's ribs. Kevin turned to his leader, "You let him beat you, didn't you?"

"It was a fair fight," Jayden said as he lifted his shirt. "Mike won all on his own."

"But… it's Mike," Kevin frowned. "The guy couldn't beat a stick unless he was really committed… and we all know how much he hates training."

"Sometimes, you've just got to figure out what motives your team," Jayden smirked.

"I guess the forest guy would be afraid of getting hit by fire," Mia pondered. She had seen Jayden use the fire symbol power and assumed it was meant for Mike.

"Who said it was for Mike?" Jayden cocked an eyebrow, hoping the blue and pink Rangers would understand.

"But… Mike was your partner," Kevin frowned. "Don't tell me you were going to hit Mia or me with that. It's uncalled for!"

Jayden lowered his head and sighed. Maybe he still did have a lot of teaching to do.

-Samurai-

After beating Jayden in training, Mike had taken Emily inside. He was exhausted after fighting Jayden and all his body wanted to do at this point was take a long nap. However, he had more important things to do.

"That was so cool!" Emily beamed as she sat on her stool and looked at Mike. "You should have seen the look on Jayden's face when you beat him. I told you you were an amazing Samurai!"

"Thanks, Em," Mike smiled. He loved knowing she supported him. It made his win feel like more of a victory. No one had even been so supportive of him. Even the support from his parents could have been a lot stronger. He had always been the black sheep, and it was hard for others to relate to the black sheep. "Listen, Em, Jayden made me realise something and…"

Mike suddenly started to feel very warm and he knew his face was turning red. He found a loose thread on his stool and started playing around with it. He wanted to tell Emily he liked her, but a thousand doubts popped into his head. What if she didn't like him back? What if she only saw him as a best friend and nothing more? What if, by telling her how he felt, he ruined what they had? What if he told her and then somehow he screwed up and hurt her again?

"What?" Emily asked and Mike snapped out of his thoughts. He looked at her and shrugged.

"What? Oh… it's nothing. Never mind. I thought it was important but I got to thinking and…"

"You can tell me," Emily smiled sweetly. "I won't laugh if it's stupid! I promise!"

"It's fine. It's really not important, Em."

"Please!" Emily begged and Mike found himself cursing her. He was certain she was doing this on purpose. He couldn't ever resist her when she begged. It was always so sweet and innocent. He couldn't deny her what she wanted. It wasn't possible for him.

"I…" his cheeks started burning again. He had to say something, but the truth was just too risky, "I… I realised we make a great team."

Emily frowned. Mike had just stated the obvious. Jayden was a solo fighter. He took on the Nighloks or the Moogers on his own, and only occasionally would go to help out someone else. Kevin and Mia were a team, especially now that they were dating. Sometimes, they would switch it up, and Kevin would fight with Mike, and Mia would fight with Emily, but Kevin and Mia were never as amazing as they were when they fought together.

Emily knew she and Mike were the same way. She trusted Mike more than anyone, and trust was key on the battlefield. She knew he would never do anything to put her in danger. Not on purpose anyways. She always felt safe with him, even when she had fallen down the ravine because of what he told her. For a quick moment, as she fell, she had seen him reaching for her hand, trying to catch her, and before she passed out, she heard him trying to keep her calm. He would do anything for her, and she would do anything for him. That was what made them a great team; in her eyes, at least.

"I know, Mike," she smiled and nodded. "Did you just figure that out?"

"Well, I mean… it was… I knew… but… after the whole ravine incident… I just figured it was important to remind you, you know. You can trust me, no matter what. I've always got your back."

"Same," Emily nodded. "You know, once Mentor lets me get back in my Ranger suit. Right now I'm kind of useless."

"You're not useless," Mike smiled, but before he could say anymore the Gap Sensor went off. He cursed his luck and shook his head as the others rushed in.

"C'mon, Mike!" Kevin called as he pulled the green Ranger off the stool and to his feet. As Mike was whisked away, he looked at Emily.

"Stay home with Mentor!" he told her.

Confused as to why he would have to state the obvious once again, Emily gave Mike an uncertain nod. She turned to Mentor when he walked into the room.

"What's happening?" she asked him.

"A Mooger invasion," Mentor told her. He pulled up the city map from the table and Emily gasped. There were Mooger symbols flooding the map, both big and small.

"How are they going to fight all of those?" she asked. If there were giant Moogers, the Rangers would need the Megazord. They would be able to form it without her, but they would have a little less control over the ape.

"The Battle Wing," Mentor reminded her. "The boys will take care of the big Moogers. Mia can handle a few on her own for a little while."

"I hope so," Emily nodded. She looked down at the map and smiled when she saw four dots rushing in the middle of the action. Her friends had made it. Mentor Ji enlarged the area of the map so he and Emily could get a closer look.

Just as Mentor had predicted, Mia was able to hold off most of the regular Moogers while Jayden, Kevin and Mike finished off the large ones. Once they were freed, they joined Mia in battle. Now, Emily wasn't sure how well they were doing. However, she did know that as long as their coloured symbols showed up on the map, they were still morphed. That was a good sign.

Suddenly, she frowned. All the Moogers started gravitating towards Jayden's symbol. She looked at Mentor.

"What are they doing?"

Mentor didn't answer her. He got up from the stool and walked over to the bookshelf. Emily watched him. He never touched a book from the shelf, but she could almost see the gears spinning in his head.

"Master Xandred must have found out…"

Emily tilted her head to the side, "Found out what?" she asked.

Mentor turned to her and sighed, "The previous Rangers, your parents, discovered a symbol that would forever seal Master Xandred away. The symbol was written down, for future generations, as a way to never forget."

"Why would Master Xandred want the symbol, though?" Emily frowned. "I don't think he plans on sealing himself away forever… does it?"

"He does not," Mentor shook his head. "Master Xandred must have found where the symbol was buried… along with the rest of our secrets."

"Where was it buried?" Emily asked. Mentor looked up at her and shrugged.

"It was the red Ranger's secret."

"Jayden's ancestors?"

"Jayden's father," Mentor nodded. "It was him who tried to seal the Master away…"

Mentor suddenly shook his head, "I've said too much. I will continue this discussion when Jayden and the others return."

"But, Mentor…"

"That's enough, Emily," Mentor said before walking away. Emily pouted and looked at the map, but her mind wasn't focused on her friends. Instead, she tried to think about when Master Xandred could have figured this out. No Nighlok had ever taking anything back to the Netherworld. Anyways, they had all been defeated. There had only been one time the Rangers never got to finish a battle: the Warehouse.

-Samurai-

The Rangers returned from their battle, still confused over why the Moogers had suddenly set their sights on Jayden, and only Jayden. Emily was also surprised when they told her they had heard Master Xandred calling out for the red Ranger – Jayden.

Everyone gathered around the table and sat on their stools. Jayden had promised he would explain what he knew when they were home, the safest place from Master Xandred.

Kevin shook his head and looked at Mentor. The man usually had all the answers, "Why were the Moogers only after Jayden?"

"Master Xandred must know," Mentor said as he turned to Jayden. He was positive the red Ranger had already figured this out on his own, but he needed to make sure Jayden was aware of the challenges he was going to face.

"Know what?" Mike asked. "Are you keeping secrets from us?"

"There is a secret symbol that can create a seal," Mentor explained. Emily already heard this. She turned to Jayden and watched how he would react to the news of the secret symbol – if it was news to him. She noticed Jayden seemed withdrawn and she could tell he didn't want her or the others to learn of the secret symbol. But still, she had no idea why.

"The previous red Ranger used the symbol to imprison Master Xandred," Mentor Ji continued. "When he last attacked us, we were surprised, and nearly defeated. That symbol was how Jayden's father was able to seal Master Xandred away last time."

Jayden took a seat and held his head in his hands. Emily furrowed her brow. The pieces were coming together. The symbol, the red Ranger hiding it, and all the information about it, and the Moogers going after Jayden.

"So it's up to him?" she asked. "Jayden, I mean. He has to use the symbol?"

"Only members of the red Ranger Shiba family can use the seal," Mentor nodded.

"So, just use the seal to defeat Master X," Mike shrugged. This answered seemed to easy to even him, though. Why would there be five Rangers if there was only one who would be able to stop Master Xandred? When he looked around, he saw the other Rangers were wondering the same thing as him.

Jayden got up and walked off suddenly. Mentor shook his head.

"It's not that simple," he told Mike and the others as he let Jayden leave. "It takes unbelievable symbol power to make the seal permanent."

"So, Jayden's got to master his symbol power before he can do it?" Mia asked.

"Until then, we can't let anything happen to Jayden," Kevin said as he looked to his friends. "As long as Jayden's still a Ranger, we still have a chance."


	24. Jayden's Battle

Jayden sat alone in his room. He didn't want to be with the others. They were his friends. He trusted them and cared for them. He trained them. They were born for this job (most of them, anyways) and while they had all trained prior to becoming a Ranger, when they first arrived on his doorstep, they had been at very different skill levels. At first, he hadn't been too thrilled about having to train a team of Rangers, but his friends grew on him. They were a fun-loving bunch. They were very caring and very loving. He would do anything for them, and he knew they would do anything for him.

But he didn't want them to. He had kept his responsibility a secret from them because he could never imagine putting any of them in harm's way. As long as they fought to protect themselves and those who couldn't fight, he could fight for them. He would learn to master his symbol power and he would seal Master Xandred away, but it was his responsibility, not theirs. They're only job was to return to their families safe and sound.

He knew that now that they had learned the truth, they would do what he didn't want them to do. They would protect him. As long as he was still alive, the world would still be able to fight. But they were just as important to him as the world was. They were his family. He would do anything to keep them safe. If anything happened to any of them, he would never be able to live with himself.

A knock on his door pulled him from his thoughts. He turned and saw Mentor Ji stepping inside his room.

"They were going to find out eventually," he told Jayden. The red Ranger nodded.

"Now wasn't the time to tell them. You and I both know…"

"We need to keep up with Master Xandred. He knows. He found the symbol and everything else that was hidden. I don't know how he did it…" Mentor shook his head, "It's important we keep the Rangers up to speed."

"They're going to get hurt," Jayden growled.

"You have trained them well," Mentor Ji approached his "son" and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Do you not trust them?"

"I trust them," Jayden nodded. "I just can't bear the thought of anything happening to them. Every time they get hit in battle… every time that gap sensor goes off… I worry. What if I can't bring them all home?"

"A problem that has plagued all good leaders," Mentor sighed.

"I would rather take the fall," Jayden shook his head, "I would lay my life down for any of them, for any reason. I can't let them get hurt, and I can't ask them to protect me. I've been training for this. This is my destiny – not theirs. They just need to worry about returning home."

Jayden shrugged Mentor's hand off his shoulder and walked off. Mentor let out a deep breath.

-Samurai-

Outside, the Rangers were training with their swords, thinking about what they had all just learned about Jayden. Mike was excited about this news. Now he knew that as soon as Jayden mastered the power symbol, Master Xandred would be defeated. He knew it would take some time, but at least now he could see an end point.

"Jayden just has to master his power symbol and Master X will be old news," he grinned as he lowered his sword and went to sit beside Emily, who was watching the Rangers train. He wrapped his arm around her, "We're getting closer to the end!"

"But the last Red Ranger couldn't master the seal," Mia pointed out, dampening Mike's hopes. "Master Xandred's not completely gone."

"The red Ranger before that couldn't either," Kevin stated. He shook his head and sighed, "No Ranger has."

"He'll master it!" Emily smiled confidently, "he has to! It's his destiny!"

Kevin looked at his little sister. Her smile and confidence was contagious. He nodded his head, "That's right. And until then, we have to protect Jayden. That's our number one mission!"

Inside the house, Jayden had just slipped on his training gear and was making his way out to the training yard when he overheard Kevin. He slowed his pace and listened carefully.

"If we work as a team, we can protect Jayden from anything!"

"No I see it," this was Emily talking, "That's why we've been training our whole lives."

Jayden shook his head and stepped outside.

"No!" he stated firmly, his fist clenched and his grabbed his training sword, "That's not necessary! You protect yourselves. It's business as usual! Stay focused on the battle at hand as a team!"

Jayden walked over to the training dummies and held up his sword. Kevin turned to his leader and stood his ground.

"We must protect you!"

"No!" Jayden shouted and he whacked the dummy with his sword. The Rangers jumped slightly. "That's just too much of a burden to bear. Protect yourselves."

"But…" Mia stepped forward. Jayden turned to face his friends.

"That's an order!" again, he shouted. He wasn't angry; not at them. He was angry at Master Xandred and at himself for putting his friends in this position. He was going to keep them safe.

As he swung at the dummy, the gap sensor went off and he heard a round of groans fill the air.

"Two in one day," Mike whined as he let go of Emily and got up. He looked at her, "Stay with…"

"Mentor. I know," Emily nodded.

-Samurai-

Jayden led his team, minus one, to the quarry, where at the top of a large cliff stood a Nighlok.

"Which one of you is the red Ranger?" the Nighlok asked at the Rangers stopped in their tracks and looked up. Jayden's stomach turned. He was being called upon. He took a step forward, revealing himself. It was better than hiding and letting the Nighlok figure out for himself by attacking the others.

"Well, hello there!" the Nighlok called down as he wielded his sword, "Master Xandred's just found out about you and he's ordered me to destroy you!"

Jayden heard the footsteps of the other Rangers as they stepped forward to defend him.

He took another step forward so he was still protecting his Rangers, but Mia whispered something to Kevin and Mike, and suddenly the two boys rushed forward and grabbed his arms.

"This is too dangerous," Kevin told him as Jayden tried to break free. "This is exactly the type of battle you should avoid! Let us do our duty and protect you!"

Jayden had heard enough. He pulled free from Mike and Kevin and rushed forward to face the Nighlok on his own.

"Go, go Samurai!" he called out, quickly morphing into the red Ranger as the Nighlok tried to shoot him down. He avoided the blasts and jumped up to the join the Nighlok at the top of the cliff.

Mia, Kevin and Mike had to shield themselves from the blasts, and once the smoke and dust cleared, they saw Jayden had done exactly what Kevin had told him not to do.

"Why won't Jayden listen?" Mia sighed and Kevin shrugged.

"I don't know, let's just get up there!" he looked at his two team-mates, "Get out your Samuraizers, guys."

The Rangers morphed, but before they could reach Jayden and the Nighlok, Moogers appeared and surrounded them.

Kevin tried to break through them, but Mia caught up, swinging her sword.

"Kevin, stay focused," she warned him. "We've got to beat these Moogers first!"

"Then we'll help Jayden," Mike added.

Kevin nodded and slashed another Mooger down. The faster he defeated these creatures, the faster he could go help his leader. He glanced up at the cliff to quickly check up on Jayden when he saw the red Ranger falling from the sky and landing back on the ground. Jayden withered in pain.

The Nighlok hopped down from the cliff and landed not too far from Jayden, laughing as he did.

"Look at ya," he said, "One double-slash and you're down for the count!"

"Down, but not out," Jayden struggled to get back to his feet, but he pushed himself up. He needed to protect himself, as well as his friends. Nothing would keep him from doing so.

"I thought you would be tough, but you're crawling around like a bug!" the Nighlok taunted as he played with his sword. "I love to crush bugs!"

Kevin created an opening through the Nighloks and rushed through. Jayden needed help, whether he liked it or not. One more blast from that Nighlok, and he would be done.

"Kevin!" Mia called, worried Kevin was going to do something he would regret. She was all for protecting Jayden, but she couldn't help but worry about her boyfriend.

Mike looked at her and nodded, "You hold off these Moogers, I'll go help."

He slashed at his final Mooger before chasing after Kevin. Blue and green arrived just as the Nighlok unleashed another one of his double slash attacks. This time he unleashed even more power. Mike and Kevin screamed in agony as the blast ripped through their suits, forcing them to power down and drop to their knees.

"Kevin!" Mia screamed. She finished off the Nighlok and watched as her boyfriend and friend took the fall for her leader.

Jayden was on his knees behind the two boys. He looked down at them and shook his head.

"No… this is exactly what I didn't want to happen!"

"Those fools must really care about you," the Nighlok laughed as he approached Jayden and the two wounded Samurai. Fearing they would get hurt once more, Jayden jumped on top of them. There was nothing else he could do to protect them.

Mia quickly bolted over and stood before Jayden, holding out her sword. She needed to protect him and her friends, before this Nighlok did anymore damage.

"Four for the price of one; that's a deal!" the Nighlok laughed as he lifted his sword. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, another Nighlok-like creature jumped down, getting between the Rangers and the Nighlok. He swung his sword at the Nighlok before turning and swinging at Mia. She flew through the air and powered down before she hit the ground. She rolled over in pain and looked up at the monster that had both saved and attacked her.

Jayden glanced down at Mike and Kevin, and then over at Mia before finding his energy once more. He grabbed Mike's sword and held it up in time to stop the new monster's attack.

For a moment, Jayden and the monster stood perfectly still. The Nighlok watched and frowned.

"Dekker, what are you doing here?" he asked. Dekker didn't move a muscle as he answered.

"Red Ranger is my opponent, not yours," he said. He moved his head slightly and glared at the Nighlok, "I'll ask you once, please leave."

"And what if I don't want to?" the Nighlok asked before charging into battle. Jayden suddenly found himself in a three way battle, which each man for himself. He picked up Kevin's sword, knowing he would need every piece of help he could get.

Suddenly, the Nighlok pulled away, fuming angry.

"Stand aside, Dekker!" he shouted, "The red Ranger is mine to defeat!"

He jumped in the air and held out his sword. Jayden looked up but found he had very little time to react. Suddenly, and completely by surprise, Dekker jumped in the way, shielding Jayden from the attack.

"Stand aside, Nighlok!" Dekker growled and Jayden stepped back. He regained his composure before jumping back into the battle.

"You both need to stand aside," he shouted.

From the ground, Mia watched, fearing the outcome. She knew Jayden was strong, and extremely capable with a sword, but both the Nighlok and Dekker also appeared to be extremely skilled. She cringed as the sound of metal hitting metal filled the air and explosions kicked up the dirt and sand.

Suddenly, everything calmed. When the dust settled, Mia saw Jayden was holding his swords out. One was blocking the Nighlok's sword while the other was held at Dekker's throat. Behind his helmet, Jayden grinned.

"Alright, guys, your move," he said confidently.

The Nighlok stood down, "You're both in luck. I'm dried out."

As he disappeared back to the Netherworld, both Jayden and Dekker lowered their weapons and turned to face each other.

"Why did you help me?" Jayden asked his adversary.

"My only desire is to find someone skilled enough to be my opponent," Dekker answered. "Someone worthy to clash against my sword: Urumasa."

Mia could tell this was going to escalate into another battle. She tried to push herself up.

"Jayden, don't fight him!" she cautioned, but it was too late. The swords clashed for a moment until Dekker struck Jayden in the arm, causing the red Ranger to drop one of his swords and hit the ground. Dekker swung again, slicing the boulder that was sitting just beside Jayden.

"That was too easy," Dekker sighed. "You need to be at your peek. Next time, you will taste the slash."

With that, Dekker turned and disappeared.

Mia hurried to her feet and rushed over to Jayden.

"Are you okay?" she asked her leader. He looked at her and nodded. Suddenly, they could both hear Kevin and Mike grunting as they squirmed on the ground. Mia turned to them and rushed over, falling between the two boys. She grabbed Kevin in her arms.

"Kevin, Mike," she held onto Kevin as she looked at Mike, trying to figure out what kind of condition they were in. She already knew it was bad, but with the way both boys were squirming around, she could tell they were in a lot of pain.

Jayden watched from the distance as Mia pulled out her Samuraizer to let Mentor Ji know that her friends were hurt. He powered down and sighed. This was his fault. He couldn't protect them. He turned to leave but stopped himself. He had to get them home. He had to make sure they would recover before he left. He took a big breath and rushed over to help his friends.


	25. And Then There Were Two

"This isn't fair," Emily whined to Mia who stood over Kevin's bed, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. Mia turned to the yellow Ranger, who was still trying to process everything she had been told about the battle. How the Nighlok wanted to destroy Jayden, how Kevin and Mike tried to protect him, and then the mysterious Dekker who had come and announced his desire to battle Jayden. Given the way he fought against the Nighlok, Mia could assume he wasn't part of Master Xandred's crew, but that only caused him to worry more.

Once she and Jayden had gotten the boys home, they had set them in their beds. Mentor Ji had moved them into the common room to make it easier to help them. He had never seen anyone in such a terrible condition, and knew that the boys were going to need as much assistance as possible over the next few days if they stood a chance at making a full recovery.

Mia looked down at Kevin sadly before taking a seat on her stool beside Emily. The yellow Ranger shook her head and repeated, "This isn't fair."

"It's the game, Emily," Mia said, trying to comfort her friend. She pulled Emily into a hug. "Kevin and Mike did what they had to do."

"I know that, but why does everyone have to target Jayden?" Emily asked. "Master Xandred has his reason, but Dekker. If he wants to fight, can't he get in line or something? You know, like wait until after we defeat Master Xandred? How are we supposed to stop them all?"

"We'll do it," Mia smiled, "It'll be tough, but we'll do it."

"But it's just the two of us," Emily said. She turned to Kevin and Mike, "They can't fight."

"Neither will you," Mia frowned. "You're still hurt."

"I'm not letting you protect Jayden alone," Emily stated firmly. She knew she was still hurt. She could still feel the pain and she was still struggling to move around, but she was better off than the boys and while Mia was strong, there was no way she was going into battle alone with Jayden.

"We'll be fine," Kevin grunted from his bed as he listened to the girls. His body felt like it had been hit and run over by a truck, but he wasn't going to let Mia fight alone. He would recover. "Just a little rest and… ARG!"

He cried out as pain shot up his arm. Mia jumped to her feet and rushed over to help him readjust himself. With all the squirming, he had moved into a dangerous position for his arm. If he wasn't careful, he was going to worsen the break.

"You're not fighting," Mia told him. "You're going to stay here until Mentor says you're all better. You'll be no use to Jayden, or me, if you go out like this."

Kevin agreed, only because the pain was too overwhelming at this point. He shut his eyes as Mia dimmed the lights. She turned back to Emily.

"I'll be fine on my own," she said, but Emily shook her head.

"I'm coming with you next time," she got to her feet and tried to stand strong, "I'm getting better. I know I'll be able to fight!"

"Emily! Sit down!" Mia hurried over to try and get her friend off her knee. This was turning into a disaster. Anymore battles and it was possible there would be no more Samurai left to protect Jayden, especially if Jayden continued to refuse protection and jump head first into danger.

Over in the hallway, Jayden was leaning against the wall, listening to the girls. He had second thoughts about leaving, but after hearing the lengths his friends would go to in order to protect them, he knew he had to get as far away as possible. Even if they wanted to fight, Mike and Kevin weren't in any condition to get out of bed, and still, they wanted to be on the battle field with him.

Emily, who was still supposed to be benched, was refusing to let Mia go into battle alone, even though the lightest of attacks could send her into bed with Kevin and Mike, or worse.

And Mia was determined to fight and protect him without backup. She was willing to put herself in danger, just so he could keep fighting. He couldn't let that happen. Not to his friends.

He placed his bag over his shoulder and snuck out of the house. They would be safe here.

Back in the common room, Mia finally got Emily to take her seat. This was already getting old. She was three Rangers down, and yet none of them were staying down. She needed them all to recover.

"We'll figure this out, okay Emily?" Mia said as she looked into Emily's eyes and smiled. "We're stronger than this. Next time that Nighlok shows up, Jayden will be ready, and I'll be right there to help him."

"But you can't do it alone," Emily insisted. It was too dangerous. "I'm coming with you. I'm fine!"

"No, Emily!"

Mentor stepped into the room, interrupting the conversation. He looked at Mia and Emily.

"Have you seen Jayden?" he asked them. Mia glanced up at him and shrugged her shoulders. Emily turned to face him.

"Is he in his room?" she asked. Mentor shook his head.

"I'm afraid not."

Mia bit her lip. She looked at Emily, "Stay here."

She rushed past Mentor and quickly checked Jayden's room, hoping Mentor was mistaken. There was no sign of Jayden.

"Not again," she sighed as she stepped outside. Still, Jayden was nowhere to be found. She walked back inside and returned to the common room. She approached the table and pulled up the map, hoping his samuraizer would give away his location.

"Did you find him?" Emily asked as she got up and limped over to Mia. The pink Ranger sighed and shook her head.

"Nothing," she said. Emily leaned into her, both to take the weight off her knee, as well as to give her worried friend a hug. Mia wrapped her arms around the smaller girl, but her focus was on Jayden. "He wouldn't just leave."

"We'll find him," Emily said, finding her confidence once again. She couldn't stand to see her friends losing hope. "Maybe he went for a walk, or he dropped his samuraizer or…"

Emily sighed as Mia shook her head. She turned to Mentor. He too had a look on his face that told Emily he believed Jayden took off, but she wasn't going to believe.

"No, he'll come back."

"Emy…" Mia tried to hold onto Emily, but the young samurai pulled away. She stood on her own and obviously struggled to stay on her feet. Mentor reached out to try and steady her, but Emily pulled away.

"He wouldn't leave us alone," she said. "We're down two Rangers! It's hard, but if the three of us…"

"Two," Mia said, with reference to herself and Jayden, but she quickly corrected herself. Jayden was gone and she wasn't going to let Emily fight. "One."

"No," Emily shook her head. "You're not fighting alone! You'll get hurt and then it'll just be me and Jayden."

"Jayden's gone," Mentor sighed. "Unless he turns his Samuraizer back on again, we might never find him."

"All the more reason why I have to help you!" Emily raised her voice. Her body shook and she glared angrily at Mia. She was scared. Kevin and Mike were down and it would be days, maybe weeks, before they were able to get out of bed. Not to mention Jayden's sudden departure. She couldn't believe he would leave her and the others like that. On their own to fight. The Nighloks were after him, and that Dekker creature was after him as well, but that didn't mean they would follow him. She knew that she and the others were still in danger, even with Jayden gone. It scared her to think that this was just the start of the end, and no one was able to handle what Master Xandred had up his sleeves.

Hearing Emily's tone, Mike tried to sit up in the bed, but his body was paralyzed from the pain. He was about to scream but bit his tongue, knowing that would only scare Emily more. He tried to look at her.

"You'll be fine, Emily. Just listen to Mia, okay?"

Emily shook her head, "But she's being stupid! She can't…"

"Listen to Mia," Mike repeated. He wanted to keep her safe, and he knew Emily trusted him. He would do anything to convince her to stay out of harm's way, and right now, he knew that meant trusting her with Mia. He had to get her to trust Mia as well.

But Emily wasn't listening; Mike could see it in her eyes. She was going to do anything she could to make sure everyone was safe, even if that meant facing a Nighlok before she was recovered. Before he could say anything more to change her mind, though, Emily ran off to her room.

Mia watched her leave and sighed. She knew this wasn't easy, especially with Jayden leaving.

"Go after her," Mentor encouraged Mia, "You both need each other right now. I'll watch the boys tonight."

Mia turned to Kevin. She couldn't leave him when he was in this much pain. She walked over to his bed and took his good hand. She squeezed it gently and gave him a kiss. When she pulled away, she saw Kevin was looking at her. He nodded his head.

"Go."

"What?"

"If a Nighlok attacks, you and Emily need to be ready. I want you safe. Go figure this out with her. I'll be fine," he encouraged her. Mia nodded in understanding. She kissed him again and looked at Mike.

"Make sure he stays in bed," she said before giving Mentor the same look.

Mike laughed lightly, trying to not hurt himself as he did, "I'll keep an eye on him if you watch Em."

"Deal," Mia nodded as she left Kevin in Mentor's capable hands. She stepped into her bedroom where she saw Emily sitting on the bed, facing the window and hugging her ape stuffed toy. Gently, she lowered herself onto the yellow bed and wrapped her arms around Emily. She touched the ape and laughed.

"You know," she started, "Monkeys and Apes aren't exactly the same thing."

Emily looked down at her stuffed ape, which she had named Monkey. She knew it was a silly name for an ape, but it was much cuter than Ape.

"I know," she nodded.

"I'm sure Jayden has a good reason for leaving," Mia whispered as she continued to hold Emily comfortingly. She wasn't sure if what she was saying was true, but she needed to keep hers and Emily's hopes up. Until the boys were back in fighting form, or Jayden came home, they were the only Rangers. If they gave up, they were giving up their chance.

"He has a reason," Emily sighed, "It's just not a good one. How can it be? Kevin and Mike need him right now, and we're going to have a hard time fighting Master Xandred."

"We?"

"I'm helping. You can't stop me."

"Emily, you can barely walk…"

"I made it here," Emily turned to face Mia, "If I don't help, you're going to get hurt for sure, and then we'll really be in trouble. And if I do get hurt, at least you'll still be okay. We have to keep ourselves strong."

"I know," Mia nodded her head before resting it on Emily's shoulder and looking out the window as well. "Just… promise me you won't do anything stupid… and you'll let me know when you've had enough. I don't want you getting hurt out there because you aren't ready for a battle."

"I promise," Emily smiled and looked up, "Do you think… if Jayden really did have a good reason to leave… he'll have a good reason to come back?"

"Definitely," Mia said. "No one wants to stop Master Xandred more than Jayden, and I doubt he thinks he can stop the Master alone."

"Maybe he went out to train," Emily suggested. She pulled out of Mia's arms and slowly got off the bed and onto her feet. She looked at her friend, "We should do that too. You promised me a crash course training lesson."

"Now?" Mia frowned as she checked the time, "Emy, it's the middle of the night."

"Are you tired?" Emily asked. Mia shook her head. After today's battle she knew she wasn't going to get much sleep. She was too worried about Master Xandred's plan, Jayden, and Kevin. She knew Emily would be just as worried.

"I guess now would be a good time," Mia got off the bed, "Are you sure you're up to it?"

"I promise I'll let you know when I've had enough," Emily crossed her fingers over her heart before grabbing Mia's hand and pulling her along at a slow pace. She was going to be ready when a Nighlok attacked again.


	26. Girl's Day

It was still early in the morning, but Mia couldn't fall back to sleep. Her mind was too preoccupied with her current situation. Her leader was missing, her boyfriend and one of her best friends were still laid up in bed, severely injured after their last battle, and her "little sister" was determined to fight alongside her, even though she wasn't ready. It was a lot for Mia to handle.

She headed to the common room, hoping Kevin would be awake at this hour. She wouldn't wake him if he was sleeping, but she really needed someone to talk to. She tip-toed to the side of his bed and quickly checked if his eyes were open or not.

A loud snore filled the room and Mia looked over to Mike's bed. Only the green Ranger could make such a sound. However, tonight she was thankful for it because it woke Kevin up.

"Mike, I'm going to suffocate you with a pillow one of these nights," Kevin muttered before he rolled over and saw Mia at his bedside. He smiled and reached out his good arm to take her hand. The other was still wrapped up from when he had broken it trying to defend Jayden.

"What time is it?" he whispered to her. Mia shook her head.

"I'm not sure. Early morning, but I couldn't sleep."

"Are you okay?" Kevin asked with concern, "You took a good hit with that Dekker guy that wanted Jayden."

Mia rubbed her chest and nodded her head, "Yeah, I'm fine. That's the least of my worries. How are you?"

Another one of Mike's loud snores erupted from his mouth. To Mia and Kevin, it almost sounded like he had swallowed a trumpet and was attempting to play with his throat.

"Aside from Snores-A-Lot over there, I'm feeling better."

"At least he's getting a good night's sleep," Mia chuckled. She saw Kevin tap the side of his bed and sat down on the empty space next to him. He pushed himself up, ignoring his body's screams as he did, and allowed Mia to rest her head on his chest as he wrapped one arm around her.

"Are you worried?" he asked. Mia looked up at him with the intention of lying. She didn't want him to worry, not when he was in this state. But when she saw how much he cared she couldn't do anything but tell him the truth.

"You and Mike are hurt, and we don't know where Jayden went," she nodded. "What if a Nighlok does come? I know they're all going after Jayden, but you two have pretty much shown that to get to him, they've got to go through us."

"We didn't exactly put up much of a fight," Kevin chuckled only to make her feel better. "Look, Jayden… wherever he is, he can take care of himself. I'm sure if he needs help, he'll come back. And same for us. I doubt he would let us get hurt. He fought for us in that battle… he'll do it again."

"It just doesn't make sense," Mia sighed. "You know… after punishing Mike for running off when things were tough, he turns around and does exactly that. I trust him as a leader, and I always will, but unless he's got a very good reason, we'll all start to question him."

"Maybe he's just scared," Kevin shrugged. "Knowing all the evil on the planet is coming after you has to give even Jayden a bit of a fright. He'll be home, I promise, Mia."

Mia smiled and looked up at her boyfriend. He always knew how to make her feel better. Kevin leaned his head down and kissed her.

"I know you and Em need to be on top of your game right now, but rest up, okay?" Kevin told her. "You can't tire yourselves out before the battle begins."

"I'm getting her out of here this afternoon after we train some more," Mia nodded, "if you're okay with that. I trust Mentor will take good care of you for a few hours."

"Go have fun," Kevin smirked and he kissed her again, "If you stop by that bakery though, can you pick me up something? I don't know what kind of painkiller's I'm on, but I'm craving sweets."

"I'll see what I can do," Mia smiled.

-Samurai-

Just as she promised, after training Mia took Emily out of the house for the afternoon. Unlike herself, she didn't want the yellow Ranger to worry about the possibility of fighting without any of the guys and thought that a girl's day would be exactly what Emily needed.

They had gone to the park to throw around a Frisbee. Mia was careful with her tosses, though, because Emily's knee was still healing up. She also didn't want the Ranger klutz to jump for the disk and land in a bush like the last time the Rangers all went to the park to play Frisbee. While at the park, the two girls had run into the young boy and his uncle, the same due they met at the ice-cream truck. The girls shared a laugh as Spike, the young boy, drooled over Mia. It was tragically hilarious to break the news to Spike that his love was unrequited as Mia already had a boyfriend. She tried to break it gently by telling Spike he was a great kid afterwards, but as it turned out, Spike had been too lost in his own daydream and he was pulled away by his uncle after Emily threw the Frisbee and it accidentally hit the older man in the head. The big man, Uncle Bulk, didn't seem to like staying in places where he was hit in the head or spilt on and dragged his nephew away before anyone else had a chance to hit him.

After the park, Mia and Emily took the bus down to the bakery. Mia had promised Kevin a cupcake, and now that the thought had been on her mind for half the day, she was starting to crave one as well. She didn't need to tell Emily twice, though. She could see the look in the young girl's eyes as they sat in the bus. Emily was glaring out the front window and Mia knew that, given the chance, Emily would take over the wheel and speed down to the bakery.

When they reached their stop the two girls hurried out. Mia had never seen Emily limp so quickly, but there was no standing between the kid and her sweets. Mia couldn't blame her, though. After everything they were still going through, a cupcake was only felt like the beginning of the world's way of making things right with the Rangers.

They grabbed a dozen of the little treats. Hoping there would be enough inside for everyone back home. Emily had even forced Mia into buying a cupcake for Jayden. The yellow Ranger was still holding onto hope that he would be back soon.

As they sat outside enjoying their cupcakes, a girl, about Emily's age, inched in closer to them. She pulled her sunglasses down and leaned in closer before gasping.

"Emily?"

Eyes wide, Emily turned. She knew that voice. It was the voice that haunted her since she was a child. Every chapter in her childhood that ended with tears always started with that voice.

"Abby…" Emily looked at the girl and put her cupcake down. She wasn't hungry anymore. Abby smiled, as if happy Emily recognised her and leaned in for a hug. Emily shook her head and pulled away, but slipped off her chair in her attempt to avoid Abby's hold of death, as she used to call it.

"Oh look, silly Emily fell down again. I see you're still the same old kid you were back home. And all those cuts on your face… remember, I told you, its one foot at a time when you walk and stay away from pointy objects. They hurt."

Mia knelt down next to Emily to help the girl to her feet. As she did, she whispered, "Old friend of yours?"

"Define friend," Emily whispered back. She stood up and looked at Abby, "I… what are you…"

"Do you really think I was going to stay in Manure County?" Abby scoffed. "Please, that place smelt of pigs and old farmer's feet!"

"There were farms," Emily growled, trying to defend her hometown. Abby had never liked living in the country. Even in kindergarten she had been a city-girl, and she had never even ventured too far from her land or the school. By second-grade, she began to refer to home only as Manure County to emphasize her disdain.

"Whatever. I begged my parents to let me live with my Uncle, and here I am! Finally, I can live among society and not with those barbarians… oh, no offense, Emily."

Mia leaned in over Emily's shoulder, "And I thought Master Xandred sounded evil."

"So what brings you out here, cowgirl?" Abby asked Emily. "Tired of being a loser at home, so you figured you would come up here?"

"No," Emily shook her head, "Actually, I… OW!"

Emily turned to Mia after being pinched and shot the older girl a look. Mia shook her head.

"You can't tell her."

"Tell me what?" Abby asked. She looked at Mia, "Who are you?"

Mia grabbed the box of cupcakes and tugged on Emily's arm, "It doesn't matter. C'mon, Emy, maybe we should head home."

"Oh, so soon?" Abby sighed. "Well, maybe another time Emily! I can't wait to catch up. It'll be a blast!"

Mia pulled Emily along until they were standing by the side of the street, far away from the bakery and Abby. The entire time they walked, Mia heard Emily muttering threats and insults.

"Remember what your sister said," Mia reminded Emily as they waited for the bus, "Just pretend like Abby didn't say anything at all."

"I'm working on it, but Abby…" Emily turned to the bakery, where Abby had gone inside. She clenched her fists, "I've never really been able to ignore Abby. Those other kids were mean, but Abby… Abby was Satan. Satan wasn't the red little devil everything thinks he is; he's a brunette bitch with designer shoes and Berry Berry Lip-Gloss."

"I take it Abby was the queen bee?" Mia asked and Emily nodded her head. She knew about Emily's past. How the yellow Ranger had been bullied in school. After meeting Abby and watching how Emily's mood when from cheery to irritable in seconds flat, it didn't take a genius to figure out Abby wasn't like the other kids.

"She was the one leading the charge," Emily sighed. She took a seat on the bench and Mia followed, sitting next to her. "I don't know what I ever did to her, you know. I mean, all I can remember doing was breaking a crayon in kindergarten… it was the pink one… sorry…"

"Don't worry about it," Mia chuckled.

"Abby always coloured with the pink crayon. I think it was her favourite one. When I broke it, the teacher threw it out. It was getting small anyways, and even our little fingers wouldn't be able to hold it anymore. It took months before the school bought more crayons. In that time, Abby started calling me a klutz and she would point out every time I fell."

"What a mean four year old," Mia frowned.

"I guess," Emily nodded. "After a few days of making fun of me, the other kids would start to laugh and it turned into a game. Who could push Emily into the sand and make her cry first? Who could find the best hiding spot for the toys she brought to show and tell? They never stopped laughing."

"What did the teacher do?"

"She tried to stop it, but that only made things worse. Abby and the other kids would get in trouble and then they would be mad at me. It was an endless cycle, really."

"So, ever since the kids started pushing you down and calling you a klutz, you've started acting like one?" Mia asked. Emily shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know… I guess. I mean, I was always falling and every day people were laughing."

"But kids fall all the time," Mia said. "We're all a little accident prone. Kevin lost his pants training once. I doubt he did that on purpose. Mike jabbed his finger with his fork the other night at dinner. Jayden stumbled a few weeks ago, and there wasn't anything around that would cause him to trip."

Mia wrapped her arm around Emily, "And… you know how I used to cook?"

"Yeah?"

"I burnt myself all the time! I still have some scars. It happens to the best of us."

"But it mostly happens to me," Emily looked down at her knee and the other cuts and bruises along her legs. Suddenly, she felt Mia taking her hand.

"Have you ever heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy?" she asked and Emily shook her head. "Well, it believes something's going to happen, and then doing things for it to be true. Like believing you're a klutz and therefore you begin to act like one. It's all in your head, Em, trust me."

Emily seemed to cheer up a bit, but Mia could tell her encounter with her old nemesis was still bothering her. She opened the box of cupcakes and offered one to Emily.

"You know how I dream of the perfect wedding, right?" she started up a new topic. The bus wasn't scheduled to arrive for another few minutes anyways, so they had a lot of time. Emily nodded.

"You told me about it after you saved those brides," she said.

"People used to laugh at me for that… sometimes," Mia said. "Or, they used to moan and groan any time I would bring it up. Even my friends. I was never picked on, because of it, but nobody ever wanted to listen. Meanwhile, they all talked about their dreams. No one found mine interesting."

"But every girl dreams of her perfect wedding," Emily frowned. "I've thought about mine. How could everyone make fun of you for that?"

"There's always something that makes us different, I guess," Mia shrugged her shoulders. "We've just got to find people who will accept that and who will like us for who we are."

"So, you don't care that I'm a klutz?"

"It definitely keeps things interesting around the Shiba house," Mia chuckled. "I didn't want to laugh that time you fell and spilled the peas everywhere, but it was pretty funny."

"I guess so," Emily let out a soft chuckle. "And you can talk to me about your dream wedding anytime! I promise I'll listen!"

"I know you will," Mia nodded. She looked around the corner and then checked her watch. Buses had a habit of being late, but they were never this late.

"Maybe we're better off walking home?" Emily suggested. She too must have realised they had been waiting a long time.

"I guess so," Mia nodded as she got to her feet. She looked down the street once more. Maybe the bus was on its way, "I wonder why the bus is so late?"

"Traffic?" Emily shrugged as she turned to head home.

"Moogers," she heard Mia reply. Emily frowned.

"Moogers don't take the bus."

Mia grabbed Emily's arm. She turned her around and pointed down the street where Moogers were running around and causing terror.

"Oh, that's what you meant," Emily said as she pulled out her Samuraizer, ready for her first battle back. Mia did the same, but before morphing, she thought she would check with Mentor on the location of any Nighlok.

"Mentor, there's a Mooger invasion just outside the bakery. Any signs of a Nighlok in the area?"

Mentor was slow to reply, but when he did it baffled Mia and Emily. He told them the map wasn't picking up any Mooger or Nighlok activity and the gap sensor hadn't gone off. Mia rubbed her eyes, thinking maybe she was seeing things.

But when she opened her eyes again the Moogers were still there.

"Mentor, there are definitely Moogers."

"You might want to have a look at that gap sensor," Emily threw in before she looked at Mia, "While he does that…"

Mia nodded and both she and Emily held up their morphers.

"Go, go samurai!"


	27. Finding Help

Mia leaned on her sword after getting away from the Moogers. They were tough this time around – very tough. It didn't help that she was down three teammates and her only partner worried her constantly.

Emily jumped over the Moogers and slashed at them as they tried to approach Mia. When she landed, Mia noticed her knee gave in slightly, but Emily tried her best not to let it show. She knew Mia was worried enough about her as it was, she didn't need the pink Ranger fretting over every detail.

She rushed over to Mia and placed her hand on her back, "Are you okay?" she asked.

Mia nodded, "I'm fine. Just need to catch my breath. What about you, are you…"

"I'm fine," Emily nodded as well. She was thankful for her helmet though. Her head was starting to hurt a lot and if Mia could see the pain in her expression, she would pull her out of battle. "Anyways, there's no way you can handle these guys on your own."

"Are we going back in?" Mia asked. The Moogers were once again getting closer and soon they wouldn't have the choice of whether or not they wanted to fight. Emily nodded and held up her sword. She and Mia parted ways, taking their own set of Moogers. It was easier to fight when the creatures were more split out. If not, they would both be boxed in with no way of escaping. That was far from being a good idea when there was no back-up to hope for.

After a few moments, Emily couldn't tell if her visor was fogging up or if it was her vision blurring. Her head was pounding, her heart was racing and her body ached. As a Mooger swung, Emily fell to her knees, avoiding the attack unintentionally. It worked out for her, until Emily realised there was no way she would be able to get back up and fight.

"Emily…?" Mia saw her yellow team-mate fall to her knees and panic began to set in not only for Emily's well-being, but for herself as well. She knew she needed Emily to fight. If not, she was all alone against the Moogers that kept popping up.

Suddenly, as if from nowhere, Jayden as the red Ranger ran right into the middle of the crowd of Moogers and started taking them down, one by one. Mia watched as the Moogers ignored her and Emily and started making their way over to Jayden. She knew he was the target. Master Xandred wanted Jayden destroyed.

"Sorry I'm late," Jayden said, "I got caught up in another battle downtown. There was a Nighlok over there. Master Xandred isn't giving up. He dried up, so I'm here."

"You came back!" Mia smiled behind her helmet.

Jayden didn't answer. He turned away and focused on the task at hand: destroying Moogers. He wasn't back with the team. He couldn't come back. He was only here because he knew his friends would be here trying to stop the Moogers and he knew they weren't likely to win. Kevin and Mike were in no condition to leave their beds, and just as he suspected Emily wouldn't be able to finish a battle. Mia was strong, but Master Xandred's relentless attacks were stronger.

He didn't want his friends fighting. Not anymore. Not when they could get hurt. So, manually, he had gone around town and has disengaged all the Gap sensors that would alert the Rangers of trouble in the city. He didn't need them protecting him. He wasn't going to let them put themselves in harm's way.

He finished off the last of the Moogers and turned to Emily. Somewhere along the lines she had powered down and whether it was voluntarily or not Jayden didn't care. He approached her and ripped her Samuraizer out of her hand.

"Hey!"

"You shouldn't be fighting."

"I'm fine, Jayden, really…"

Jayden shook his head, "The blood in your hair says otherwise. It's stupid to fight right now. You're still meant to be benched!"

Emily touched the side of her head. No wonder she had started feeling dizzy. Jayden got up and walked over to the city bench, where he had dropped his bag before rushing into battle. He searched through it until he found a roll of bandages. He tossed them over to Mia, who had just joined Emily.

"Keep the pressure on to stop the bleeding until Mentor looks her over again," he instructed before putting the bag on his shoulder. He gave the girls one last look, "I don't want to see any of you out here again, especially in your condition! Do you understand me?"

"Jayden, where have you been?" Mia asked. She walked over to Jayden, "We've been worried sick."

"You don't have to know."

"Fine, whatever. Can you help us get home? The buses are…"

"I'm not going home," Jayden shook his head and turned his back to Mia. "Take care of them for me."

"What do you mean you're not coming home?" Mia asked.

"It's too dangerous…"

"Jayden…"

"If I see you out here again, I'll take your Samuraizer away from you as well. This is my fight!" Jayden snapped as he turned to face Mia. "The others should be resting and you're not trained enough to handle battles on your own."

"Jay…"

"That's an order!" Jayden shouted. He looked away, "I'm sorry… I have to go…"

"Jayden!" Mia called as her leader suddenly took off. She followed him for a few steps before realising she would never be able to get far.

"My Samuraizer…" Emily pouted. Mia sighed and walked back over to her to help her up. "He took my Samuraizer with him."

"Something's bugging him," Mia nodded. She helped Emily to her feet, "Let's get you looked at. Maybe Mentor will be able to figure out why Jayden's running away."

-Samurai-

Mentor Ji shone a light in Emily's eyes. She blinked once – it was bright – but managed to keep her eyes open until Mentor looked away.

"You're lucky Jayden arrived when he did," Mentor said. He didn't seem impressed at all. "I'm afraid you too are confined to this house until you're all healed. One blow to the head, and that could be the end of the line for you, Emily. Permanently."

"But that leaves Mia alone…" Emily turned to her friend. Mia shook her head.

"You're not going back out there," she said. "You can't, anyways. Jayden took your Samuraizer."

"He what?" Mike coughed and quickly sat up in bed. He regretted it instantly as pain shot through his body. He suppressed a scream, but a whimper escaped his lips. He didn't like the idea of Emily not having a Samuraizer. While he was in bed, he was counting on her to be able to protect herself. He would go to the ends of the world to save her, and if that meant jumping out of bed at this moment he would do it. That, though, was physically impossible. He was in way too much pain. He could barely scratch his own back, never mind defend his best friend.

"Jayden took my Samuraizer," Emily explained to the others. When Mia told Mentor, Kevin and Mike that Jayden had saved them both, she left out a little detail. Jayden took off with Emily's Samuraizer. She didn't understand why, either. It was stupid. Emily continued, "He told me I shouldn't be fighting. He took it and never gave it back. He said he would take Mia's too if she tried to fight!"

"That's crazy," Kevin shook his head. "We need our Samuraizers! We can't fight without them! We'll be destroyed in seconds."

"Maybe Jayden doesn't want you to fight," Mentor breathed and the others listened. He shook his head, "I don't know what's going through his head."

"He's been like this since the explosion," Kevin said and Mia nodded in agreement. Kevin turned to Mentor, "He and I had a talk a couple of nights ago. He told me about the explosion. How he led Mike and Emily right into danger…"

"But that's stupid," Emily frowned. "He didn't know there was a bomb. It was just Moogers. We could have won if they didn't…"

"I agree with you, Em," Kevin said, "But that's how Jayden felt."

"Jayden's always been very independent," Mentor added. "He doesn't like leaning on others and I can assume that as leader, his independent trait has led him to shoulder all the responsibility for the team."

"So, like, he's protecting us?" Mike asked. "But that's crazy! He's the man! He's the one we need to seal Master Xandred away. As crazy as it sounds, doesn't that make us disposable and him the one who needs to be protected. I mean, you guys are my best friends, but if one of us dies, can't we just… you know, find someone else."

"None of us have siblings, Mike," Kevin reminded the green Ranger before he looked at Emily, "And those of us who do…"

"I know, I'm just saying, we can't be the only people on this planet who can protect Jayden," Mike said, "but I doubt there's anyone else who can imprison Master X for good, right Mentor?"

"Mike has a point," Mentor nodded. He walked over to the bookcase and pulled out two books. He opened them and laid one down on Kevin's bed and the other on Mike's.

"There are two other Academies," he began, "The Ninja Academy, which on its own has fostered several different schools."

"Ninjas?" Kevin frowned. Mia held up the book so he could get a better look.

Mentor nodded and then pointed to the book on Mike's bed, "There is also the Pai Zhuq. I believe we can find some help there."

"You want us to call outside help?" Kevin asked.

"Do you have any better ideas, dude?" Mike frowned and Kevin shrugged. He had a point. If Mia was the only Ranger capable of fighting then they needed all the help they could get.

"Emily and Mia will travel to the cities where these schools reside," Mentor said as he turned the page on both books, revealing the location of the school.

"The Pai Zhuq is in Ocean Bluff," Mia grinned and she looked at Kevin. "I can look around there."

"Bring me back some pizza, dude," Mike rubbed his stomach, "Mentor's been feeding me crap all day!"

"I already brought you cupcakes," Mia teased, "Do you think I'm made of money?"

"Please?" Mike begged. Mia rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'll stop by JKP. But don't blame me if your food is cold."

"I guess that means I'll have to go to Blue Bay Harbour," Emily looked to Mentor as she said this. She didn't have her Samuraizer with her. She was confident she could make it to Blue Bay Harbour in one piece, but after today, she doubted anyone would let her go alone.

"I will accompany you to Blue Bay borders," Mentor said to Emily. "We cannot risk a Nighlok discovering we have a Ranger without a morpher."

"You stay safe too, Mia," Kevin looked at his girlfriend. "Check in with us every once in a while so we know you're okay."

"I'll be fine. I know my way around this city, and I know I can make it to JKP," Mia smiled. It made her feel good to know Kevin was worried about her, but she knew she could handle herself. She gave Emily a quick look and smirked, "Besides, it's not like Moogers take the bus."

"Are you going to be okay by yourselves?" Emily turned to the boys, looking at Mike in particular. They put on a brave face and nodded.

"We'll be fine," they assured her.

"I'll leave some snacks and water by your beds," Mentor said.

"And try not to wet yourselves while we're gone," Mia added with a chuckle. "I'll try to make it back within a few hours. Ocean Bluff isn't too far out and it's not that big a city, right?"

"Pai Zhuq Masters have a claw tattoo on their upper forearm," Mentor told Mia, "Unfortunately, that is all I know."

"Tattoo, I got it," Mia nodded. She walked over to Kevin and gave him a kiss before she left, determined to make it back before the end of the day.

Mentor looked at Emily and pointed to the door, "We should head out quickly as well. Don't worry; while you and Mia are gone, I will look after the city."

"You still have Jayden out there," Emily shrugged, "With my Samuraizer!"

"I will be waiting in the car," Mentor told her. "Don't be too long."

Emily bit her lip as he left. She looked over at the boys, "Are you two sure you're going to be…"

"Fine," the finished for her.

Emily got up and walked to their bedsides. She took Mike's hand and gave him a smile, and then looked at Kevin. The blue Ranger shook his head and looked away.

"I have a feeling I don't want to see what's about to happen," he said. "Go, have a moment. I'll pretend like I can't hear you. Just make sure you don't strain yourself, Em. That head of yours is…"

"Hard. I'll be fine. I'll rest up if I feel dizzy or nauseous or anything like that. And I still have my cell phone in case I need to call for help."

"Stay safe, kid," Kevin smiled at Emily before turning away again. Emily chuckled and turned to Mike.

"I was going to give you that lecture," Mike pouted. She crossed his arms over his chest, "Stupid big brother speech."

"Are you sure…"

"Em, I'm cool," Mike gave her a confidant grin. "Mentor's only going to be gone for what? Thirty minutes, maybe an hour. I'll probably be sleeping during that time anyways."

"But what if…"

"I'm more worried about you, Emily," Mike said. He took her hand once again, this time he held it tight, "The only reason you're in this much danger is because of me. By running away I've screwed things up, and now I can't even make it up to you. Promise me you'll come home with an army of Ninjas by your side?"

"I'll do my best," Emily nodded.

Mike reached painfully for the table beside his and Kevin's bed and took his Samuraizer. He knew it wouldn't work for Emily. He was forest and she was earth. But at least this way Emily could still trace power symbols. It would be much more difficult and it would take a lot more energy and mastery on Emily's part, however, with a Samuraizer in her hands, Emily was a lot safer.

"I don't need it," he told her. "Not right now. Take it and use it if you run into trouble."

"I don't know if I can…"

"Hopefully you won't have to find out," Mike nodded and flashed Emily the grin he reserved only for her, "But just in case… Keep it on you. If something happens, at least we'll be able to track you."

Emily smiled and tucked his Samuraizer away safely in her pockets. She leaned over to give Mike a goodbye hug, but something changed her mind and before she knew it, her lips touched his. He always made her feel good when he was looking out for her and she just couldn't hold herself back anymore. She wasn't sure how he felt about her, but she had jumped at the opportunity to tell him how she felt.

When they parted, Emily wasn't sure what to do. She had never dated before, never mind kissed a boy. She was nervous. Her cheeks turned red and she started to shake. Afraid of how he might react, she whispered a goodbye and rushed off.

Disappointed the moment couldn't last longer, Mike watched her leave with a heavy heart. However, it slowly began to sink in. She kissed him! She did like him! He had a chance!

"Dude…" he turned to Kevin.

"Don't want to know what the hell happened!" Kevin was still looking away. "You don't like it when I talk about Mia; please keep your lack of love-life with the yellow Ranger a secret, especially from me."

"She kissed me."

Kevin groaned and slammed a pillow over his face. He wished his bed had wheels so he could roll as far away from Mike as possible. But, sadly, he was stuck with the green Ranger.


	28. Bringing Friends Home

Mia got off the bus and looked around the big city. She had no idea where she was going to start looking, but at least she knew what she was looking for. Any person with a claw tattoo on their forearm was likely a Master at the Pai Zhuq and hopefully they would be willing to help her and her friends out.

She was thankful it was still summer time. Most people in the city were wearing short sleeved shirts, exposing their forearms. At least Mia didn't have to feel like a creeper and carefully eye everyone or roll up their sleeves. She wanted to keep a low profile, especially with all her other friends injured. If a Nighlok found out they were defenceless or she was out here alone someone would be in a lot of trouble.

She sighed as her stomach rumbled. She and Emily hadn't had a proper lunch (cupcakes didn't count) and she was starting to take the hit. She had promised Mike she would bring him home a pizza, and she knew JKP was just around the corner. With three reasons to head over to the restaurant she decided it was a good idea.

When she walked in she smiled as memories from her first date with Kevin flooded her mind. She hadn't been on a second date with him yet, but the first one had been so amazing that it sparked a true relationship, and she had the JKP waiter to thank for that. Fortunately, he was working today so she got her chance.

"I remember you!" he greeted Mia with a grin, "You were here on your first date."

"Yeah," Mia nodded, "Theo, right?"

"Yep. How did it go? You two were very in to each other all night."

"It was amazing. Thank you so much for getting things started. It was a little awkward at first because we see each other every day but once you broke the ice… thank you."

"You're welcome," Theo smiled. He gestured to the dining room, "Are you hear for something to eat? I can talk to the owner about giving you a discount."

As Theo spoke, Mia couldn't help but look at his forearm. There, just under the elbow, was a claw marking, just like Mentor Ji had told her. She couldn't believe it. Theo, the man who had worked his magic to make her and Kevin's date a success, was a Pai Zhuq."

"Pai Zhuq…" she breathed and Theo looked at her. He glanced down at his arm and then pulled his sleeves down.

"What?"

"Pai Zhuq," the name was strange, Mia was aware of that. Hopefully, Theo would realise she knew what the Academy was, and he wouldn't pass her off as crazy, "You're a Pai Zhuq Master!"

Theo looked over, where another waitress was standing, and motioned for her to cover for him as he pulled Mia aside. He dragged her into the kitchen, where other employees were working.

"How do you know about Pai Zhuq?" he asked and Mia noticed the other workers stopped what they were doing. For a moment, she was afraid the Pai Zhuq was maybe a hostile school, and Mentor had forgotten to mention that part.

"I heard about it from my mentor…" Mia said nervously.

"You're mentor?" one of the workers asked before turning to the man dressed as a chef. "RJ…"

"Let her speak, Casey."

Mia blinked, unsure of what to do. She had to clue these people in somehow. But if they weren't going to believe her, she didn't want to spill all the Samurai secrets.

"My friends are hurt," she started, "and there are these things… Nighloks, they're attacking our city. My mentor told me to come find Pai Zhuq masters. We need their help."

"Nighloks?" the chef, RJ, stroked his chin, "As in the monsters the Samurai warriors have been facing for thousands of years."

"Yes!" Mia nodded. "That's exactly it. My friends were hurt in an attack. Two of them are really badly beaten and another one is being chased by the Nighloks. We need help."

"Why would the Nighloks be chasing after your friend?" the only other girl in the room asked.

Feeling a little more confident, Mia reached into her pocket and pulled out her Samuraizer. She showed it to Theo and his friends.

"I'm one of the current Samurai warriors. So are my friends. Please, if you guys are Pai Zhuq Masters, we need your help."

RJ pulled off his apron and rushed to the kitchen door. He opened it slightly and called out to the waitress: "Fran, we need you to cover for us! It's an emergency!"

"Are you kidding me," Mia heard the waitress outside mumble as the suspected Pai Zhuq Masters ran for the stairs. "I thought we were over these emergency exits!"

Mia followed the kitchen staff upstairs where she discovered there was a loft above the restaurant. She saw them walking over to a set of couches and a green reclining chair. They took their seats and Mia followed.

RJ looked at her, "You need help from Pai Zhuq Masters?"

Mia nodded her head, "A lot of help. I'm the only person on my team who can fight. If something happens to me…"

"Nothing's going to happen," RJ assured Mia.

"Are you saying we're going on a mission?" Dominic, the final worker, asked as he clapped his hands together, ready for an adventure. RJ shook his head.

"We're not going on a mission," he said and Mia's heart sunk. This sounded like they weren't going to help her. But RJ turned to her and gave her a smile, "Not all of us. Two of us are going to go. The rest will stay here in case the Nighloks turn up. When the Nighloks realise the Samurai Academy and the Pai Zhuq are working together, they might try to come here."

"Seriously?" Mia grinned. "You'll help us?"

"Of course," RJ nodded. "Casey and I will come with you. Theo, Lily, Dominic, you three stay here and keep an eye out for strange creatures."

"Got it," Lily smiled.

"I'll go pack a few supplies," Casey got up from his seat and disappeared into what Mia assumed was a bedroom. As he left, she looked at the Pai Zhuq.

"Thank you so much. You don't know what this means to us."

"Anything to help," RJ smiled. "However, before we do anything else, I would like to meet your Mentor."

"Yeah, definitely," Mia nodded her head. She was so relieved she had managed to find and get help from the Pai Zhuq Masters. Hopefully Emily was having the same kind of luck with the Ninjas.

As Casey returned from the bedrooms with a bag on his shoulder, Mia and RJ got to their feet to leave. Suddenly, Mia remembered the reason she came into this restaurant in the first place.

"Uh, before we go, my friend has wanted to try the pizza from this place for a while now and…"

"We'll pack up a fresh pizza on the way out," RJ smiled.

-Samurai-

After being dropped off by Mentor, Emily had no idea where to go, or what she was looking for. She envied Mia at lot more at this moment. At least Mia had a tattoo to look for. Emily needed to find Ninjas, and something told her they wouldn't be easy to find.

She had Mike's Samuraizer in her pocket, in case she needed it, and her cell phone clutched in her hand tightly. After her last battle, walking around a strange city alone was not the ideal thing to be doing, but there was no one else who could do the job. Mentor was needed at home to take care of Mike and Kevin, as well as defend the city just in case things were bad while she and Mia were gone. Roaming around Blue Bay Harbour was easily the safest place for Emily to be in these circumstances.

She had checked the park first and saw there were a lot of teenagers, especially at the skate park. If the Ninja Academy was anything like the Samurai Academy, teenagers were probably what Emily would be looking for. However, none of them showed any signs of belonging to a Ninja school; not that Emily knew what those signs looked like.

The park led Emily to the beach and still Emily was coming up empty handed. All she saw was water, sand, and people in bathing suits. She walked along the beach, collecting sand in her shoes, until she reached the end. Giving up, Emily left.

Not too far from the beach was a motocross track. Emily wasn't sure what she was going to find there, but she felt like she fit in a lot more here. Not only were people no longer looking at her scars and bandages, because most of the racers looked somewhat just as banged up as her, but she felt a lot more connected to this location than she did at the beach, or the park, or even at home.

But as the sun started to set, the people began to leave. Emily stayed until there were only a few people left, and then she decide she wasn't going to find anything here. Defeated, and in need of a break, Emily knew she was going to have to stop somewhere and rest.

Many of the racers had been talking about a little shop which was just around the corner from the racetrack. Apparently they got most of their equipment there, and occasionally Emily heard a few compliments about the customer service. She decided to head there, hoping someone would be able to help her find her way around. She knew she couldn't go home until she found at least one Ninja, and she also knew she needed to eat. Her stomach was starting to eat itself. She also couldn't go home because she was afraid of how Mike would react to the kiss. She couldn't face him, not just yet.

She found the store and stepped in. In the back, she saw couches had been set up near the change rooms. Knowing she needed to get off her feet, and knee, she headed straight for the back and sat down. She didn't notice the man in yellow by the cash register watching her closely. She also didn't know that this man was also felt the same connection she did when he was at the dirt track and that he was also feeling a connection to her.

Emily rolled up her legging to get a look at her knee. After all that walking around, she could only hope she hadn't pulled on the gash and reinjured herself. She knew Mia was going to kill her if she did. As she inspected herself, the store owner walked over to her and knelt down.

"Let me guess, you were just at the track," the owner flashed Emily a smile. The yellow Ranger looked at her and nodded.

"Yeah, how do you…?"

"You look like most first time riders," the owner said before she turned to the man behind the counter, "Dustin, mind getting me a first aid kit for this customer."

"Sure thing, Kel," Dustin called back. He gave Emily a look before disappearing into the back room. The owner turned back to Emily.

"I'm Kelly," she said, "This is my store, and normally I don't offer to help patch up customer, but I noticed you came in alone. Where's your coach?"

"My what?"

"Don't tell me you tried to ride by yourself," Kelly frowned.

"I wasn't riding," Emily assumed that Kelly thought her scars were from taking a fall while riding one of the bikes. She was going to set her straight, "This is from a few days ago. A trip in the forest gone wrong."

"I see," Kelly nodded. "Have you been to the doctor?"

"Kinda. My friends and I live with this guy who's amazing at the medical stuff."

"So, where are your friends?" Kelly asked. "Don't tell me they ditched you."

"Here you go," Dustin said as he returned with the first aid kit. He held it out for Kelly, "One amateur doctor tool kit."

"Thanks," Kelly took the kit from Dustin and opened it up. She looked at Emily, "Do you mind?"

"Go for it. The faster I heal the better," Emily nodded.

Dustin watched Emily for a moment. He couldn't shake the feelings he was getting from her, almost like he knew and understood her. But that wasn't possible. They had just met. He didn't even know her name, or why she was in the store.

He decided to ask her, though. He had met a lot of people. It was entirely possible that he had met, or at least seen her before.

"I know this is going to sound really weird," he started as he looked at Emily, "but, do I know you?"

"Definitely not," Emily shook her head. "I'm not from here. I'm just checking the place out. I'm from the next town over."

"What brings you all the way up here?" Kelly asked.

"I'm looking for some people," Emily tried to stick to the truth as much as possible, without giving herself or her friends away. "I have a mentor… I guess a coach, really, who told me I would be able to find some, uh, friends of his up here."

The bell on the door chimed as a woman walked in. Emily didn't make much of it until the woman walked right over to her and the two people she was talking to. The woman looked at Emily, and then turned to Dustin.

"You were just at the track, weren't you?" she asked.

"About an hour ago, why?" Dustin nodded.

The woman pointed to Emily, "You ran her over, didn't you?"

"Dude, I hit you with the bike once and you never let me forget it," Dustin grumbled. Tori smirked and turned to Emily. She pulled up her sleeve, revealing a still healing scar.

"He did this," she chuckled. "But after seeing the state you're in, I think I was lucky."

"I didn't run her over," Dustin frowned.

Emily nodded her head, "Yeah. Forest accident. Trees, branches, rocks and stuff, they can be dangerous."

"Tell me about it," Dustin agreed. Suddenly, Emily felt her phone vibrating. She had put it in her pocket during her walk around the city, and finally remembered it was there. She grabbed it and answered.

"Hello?"

Kelly stopped tending to Emily and let the young girl answer her phone, hoping this would be her coach or one of her friends on their way to pick her up. It wasn't common for teenagers to come into her store without adults, but normally when they did, they came in groups. It was very rare she saw one coming in alone, especially in this condition.

"No," Emily shook her head as she talk to the person on the other end, "I haven't found them yet. I promise I'll keep looking… yes, I'm fine! I'll find a place to stay tonight if I don't find them soon and I'll keep looking tomorrow…. Mia, I'll be fine. Just make sure you bring them home."

Emily hung up her phone and stuffed it away in her pocket. She looked at the people watching her and shrugged.

"It's my friend," she told them. "She's a little protective of me, especially right now."

"And she has reason to be. Is she picking you up?" Kelly asked.

"She's in Ocean Bluff right now picking up some other friends," Emily answered. She got up from the couch, "I have to go. Thanks for your help."

"Wait!" Kelly called. She hadn't finished tending to Emily yet. But the young girl didn't get far thanks to Shane. Kelly watched as he walked into the store and bumped right into Emily. Shane had always had great balance, but Emily bounced right off him and fell to the floor. Mike's Samuraizer flew right out of her pocket and slid over to Dustin's feet.

"Not again," she groaned.

"Sorry!" Shane cried out as he offered his hand to help Emily up.

"No, it's my fault, I…" as Emily dusted herself off, she realised she didn't have Mike's Samuraizer with her. She had her phone in her pocket still, but the Samuraizer was gone. "Oh no…"

"You dropped this," Dustin held out the Samuraizer. He thought it seemed rather familiar. It didn't reassemble anything he knew technology wise. At least, nothing the public knew about. Tori seemed to be thinking the same thing as him as she looked at it.

Just as Emily reached out to take it, her phone vibrated again. Cursing her luck, she grabbed the phone, leaving the Samuraizer in Dustin's hands for a moment longer. Dustin took advantage of this opportunity and opened it up to get a better look at what he was holding in his hands. When he opened it, he saw it looked almost like a phone, but that didn't make sense. It seemed to be working properly, so why would she be carrying around two phones.

But on the screen appeared a green Kanji symbol. Dustin showed it to Tori. She was a lot better at reading Kanji than he was.

"Forest," Tori whispered to him.

"Forest?" Dustin frowned. "So, the girl gets beaten up by the forest and she puts it on her freaky phone thing?"

"I don't know," Tori shrugged.

Emily hung up the phone and quickly snatched the Samuraizer from Dustin, "I have to go!" she told the four people in the store as they watched her, "My friends are… I just… I need to give this back to…"

"Whoa," Shane grabbed Emily by the shoulders before she could leave. She seemed like she was in a state. There was something bothering her. And, given her condition, he didn't know if he wanted her to rush off alone. He saw Kelly was holding some disinfectant and had a worried look on her face already as she watched the girl. It didn't seem like a good idea to let her leave. "Look, kid, it's getting late…"

"I have to get home," Emily shook her head, "Jayden came back home and took Kevin's Samuraizer! Mentor needs this one back with Mike before Jayden comes here!"

"What?" Shane frowned and looked Emily in the eyes. She appeared fine, but she was bumbling nonsense to him.

Emily couldn't stop. Not after hearing about Jayden stealing Kevin's Samuraizer, just like he had stolen hers. She knew the only way he could get Kevin's Samuraizer was if he went home and stole it. The last time she and Mia had seen Jayden, he had made it clear he didn't want to come home, and he had also shown his dislike for her or her friends going into battle. Emily knew there was no way anyone would fight the Moogers or the Nighloks without help from their Rangers powers, and she knew that Jayden was aware of that as well. If he was trying to keep them safe, he had a funny way of doing it.

"Dude, what's a Samuraizer?" Dustin asked as he scratched his head.

"I can't… I have to…," the samuraizer dropped from Emily's hands as she grabbed her head and fell to her knees. Her head was starting to hurt again. She knew she was supposed to take it easy. Look for the ninjas; bring them home. But that was turning out to be difficult; very difficult. And stressful. Mia had already found the Pai Zhuq Masters, and Emily still believed she was nowhere near close to finding the Ninjas.

"Someone should drive her home," Kelly suggested as she looked at her three friends.

Dustin nodded almost immediately. He was concerned for the young girl. Ever since he saw her, he felt like he knew her. Like there was something about her that he could understand, or some kind of connection between them. He couldn't let her leave alone. Not in her state and not without figuring out why he felt this way around her.

He knelt down beside her and carefully got her back to her feet. He held her steady and looked at Tori.

"Can we borrow your van?"

"No way," Tori shook her head. She pulled out her keys, "I'll drive."

"Do you remember how to get home?" Dustin asked Emily. She nodded her head. This wasn't a good idea, bringing strangers back to the Academy, nor was it a good idea to get in the car with them. But she couldn't help but trust the man holding her. Just like at the track, she had a feeling – a good feeling.


	29. The Friends Accept

"I can't thank you two enough for coming," Mia smiled to RJ and Casey as she offered them a tea. It was getting to be pretty late and she had already shown them around the house and gave them the full story on why they were needed. RJ and Casey were more than happy to help, and Mia was extremely grateful.

She looked to the common room, while she sat with the men in the hallway. Inside the large room, Kevin and Mike were fast asleep. With their injuries, it happened a lot. They would sleep for hours on end, but be awake at random times of the day. Mia was finding it hard to keep track and tend to them, but as long as they healed up, she didn't mind.

"It's no problem, really," RJ assured the pink Ranger as he took a sip of tea from his mug.

"I really mean it. Especially after today. We don't know what came over our red Ranger. For some reason he thinks he has a right to take our Samuraizers away."

"How many did he steal?" Casey asked.

"Well, he has his own, obviously," Mia said, "And he took Emily's and Kevin's. We're only a team of five."

"So he's got three," Casey nodded. He looked into the common room.

"Mike can't even use his morpher," Mia said to the tiger Master. "Apparently Emily's got it with her now."

"And it's a good thing she does," RJ said, "If Jayden got in here, he would have taken it and you would only be down to one."

"That's what worries me," Mia looked at the mug in her hands. She wasn't a big tea drinker. She would have it occasionally. She found it helped her sleep when she was having trouble, and that it could calm her down when she was feeling stressed out, but she never drank it socially like this. She looked over her shoulder at Kevin and let out a sigh. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"You're friends will be fine," she heard Casey say. She nodded her head.

"I know, I just can't help be worry about him," Mia sighed. She hated seeing Kevin stuck in bed. He was a strong Samurai. One of the best she had ever seen. He was dedicated, powerful and she cared for him deeply. She wished she could be in his position so that he wouldn't be hurting, even though she knew Kevin would never allow it. He wanted to keep her safe and she knew that very well.

"Speaking of friends," RJ frowned, "aren't there supposed to be more people. Your mentor told us Emily should be coming home with more help."

Mia checked her watch as she nodded. It was late and it had been a while since she phoned to tell Emily that Jayden had stolen Kevin's Samuraizer. She knew Blue Bay Harbour was a longer trip than Ocean Bluff, but still, something didn't add up.

The doorbell rang at that point, at which Mia turned her head, Mentor emerged from the kitchen, and Kevin and Mike were pulled from their sleep from the mysterious sound. Mia had always wondered why the Shiba house had a doorbell, considering only people who lived in the house knew of its location. There were never any salesmen or neighbours needing a cup of sugar who knocked on the door.

"I guess it still works," Mentor commented from the kitchen before he looked at Mia, "No one has touched it in years."

"Should I get it?" Mia frowned, unsure of what to do. Who would ring on the doorbell? Surely by now Emily knew she could just walk in, and everybody else was home.

"Did Emily forget her keys?" Kevin asked with a yawn.

Mia shrugged her shoulders as she got up, "It's unlocked anyways."

She opened the door and was surprised to see a blonde woman standing at the door, bearing absolutely no resemblance to Emily or anyone else on the team for that matter. Mia could quickly eliminate the possibility that a family member was stopping by for a visit.

"Is this the Shiba house?" the woman asked. She bit her lower lip nervously.

Mia didn't know how to answer, "Um… yes?"

A man walked up to the house from the van in front of the house and on his back was a sleeping Emily. Mia couldn't help but laugh. Typical Emily.

"Sorry, she fell asleep on the way up. She was pretty worked up and I guess tired herself out."

"That's Emily," Mia nodded her head. "She spends the entire day running circles around all of us, and then falls asleep on us… literally sometimes."

Mia opened the door a little wider to let the man carrying Emily inside. The woman stepped in as well with her friend, but didn't go any further than the front entrance.

Mia, assuming Emily had only gotten a ride with these strangers because she knew they were the Ninjas, closed the door and smiled.

"You must be the Ninjas," she said without hesitation.

The man, who hadn't yet found somewhere to put Emily down, nearly dropped her when he heard this. He looked over at his friend. She was just as confused.

"Tor…"

"How… how…" the woman stammered as she looked at Mia. She then shook her head, "No…"

"It's fine," Mia smiled, "Emily probably didn't get the chance to tell you before she fell asleep. We're the Samurai Rangers," she motioned to RJ and Casey, "they're the Pai Zhuq masters. I can't thank you enough for…"

"Wait a minute," the man, Dustin, interrupted. He looked over his shoulder at Emily, "this kid is a Ranger? As in a Power Ranger?"

"We're all Power Rangers," Mia nodded. She looked at RJ and Casey, who had only told her their secret after she revealed herself. They too nodded.

"You can't be Power Rangers," Dustin shook his head. "You're… you're all just… most of you are… kids?"

"Hate to break it to you, Dustin, but it's not like you're a mature adult yet," Tori laughed. She pulled out the Samuraizer from her pocket. She had been holding onto it since it fell out of Emily's pocket while Dustin was trying to get her out of the van. She handed it to Mia, "That explains this."

"Mike's Samuraizer," Mia smiled as she took it. She could hear Dustin sighing with relief.

"Mike? Phew. I saw all the green on it and didn't think it fit her."

"Dustin and Emily kinda hit if off before she fell asleep," Tori quickly explained to Mia, "Coincidentally, he claimed her as an honorary yellow… is she the…"

"Yellow Ranger," Mia nodded, "yep."

Mia noticed Dustin was still carrying Emily's weight. The girl wasn't heavy, but enough was enough.

"Just drop her on Mike's bed," she told Dustin, "It's the one with the nasal trumpet player."

Dustin nodded and headed into the common room, following Mike's snoring to figure out which bed to place Emily in.

While he was doing that, Tori continued her conversation with Mia.

"So, um, how did you know about us?" she asked. She looked at the two Pai Zhuq, "And these guys are Pai… what?"

"Pai Zhuq," RJ got to his feet and held out his hand, "It's a Kung Fu Academy that trains humans to harness their inner animal spirit. I'm RJ, the wolf Master and over there is Casey, the tiger Master."

"We need your help," Mia said to Tori, "Our red Ranger left us and took most of our Samuraizers, two of our Rangers are confined to bed, and you saw the state our yellow was in. There's no way we can face the Nighlok or the Moogers alone."

"And you need help from Ninjas because…?"

"We're dead without help," Mia answered. "Please, can you help us? I don't know if you were Rangers once, but we need all the help we can get, and I've heard Ninjas were skilled fighters."

"We're always willing to help fellow Rangers," Tori nodded with a smile as Dustin returned to the hallway. She gave him a look and he too nodded in agreement. He wasn't too sure what he was agreeing too, but he was smart enough to know that it was unwise to disagree with Tori Hanson.

"Thank you!" Mia collapsed into a chair. A wave of relief finally washed over her. Now not only would she be getting some help from Pai Zhuq Masters and Ninjas, but she also no longer had to worry about her friends and their safety. Kevin and Mike could take all the time they needed to recover, and Emily didn't have an excuse to rush back into battle before she was ready. "We owe you so much."

"Not a problem," RJ assured Mia once again. The girl was definitely grateful. He was just happy he could help, as were the other recruits. The Ranger career was like being a doctor: there was an oath. Only rather than _never do harm_, Rangers had to abide by the rule of _once a Ranger, always a Ranger._

Mentor walked into the hallway at this point, "I'll show our friends to their bedrooms. Mia, would you mind giving up your room for…"

"They can have it!" Mia nodded. "They can take anything at this point. I'm in their debt."

"Where will Mia sleep?" Casey asked.

Mentor smirked, "I'm sure she'll find somewhere. C'mon, it's just down here."

Mia had an idea of what Mentor meant with his comment, but at least he had given her an idea. She turned to the common room and saw Kevin was still awake from when the doorbell had rung. She flashed him a smile before walking over to his bed.

"Do you…"

"You don't even have to ask," Kevin chuckled. Mia pulled up the blankets and slipped inside. She snuggled against Kevin as he wrapped his good arm around her.

"Are you still comfortable?"

His bruises hurt, his arm was in pain, his head was pounding and there was an itch he couldn't reach.

He looked at Mia and nodded, "I've never been more comfortable."

Over in Mike's bed, the green Ranger had been reawakened when Emily's weight had been placed on his bed. Since then he had been watching her and gently stroking her hair. He thought about what had happened between the two of them earlier. Emily had kissed him. She hadn't tripped and landed on his lips, and surely it hadn't been a dare.

Since that kiss, a lot of questions went through Mike's head. Why had she kissed him? What did it mean? Why did she run? He'd talked about it to Kevin, who didn't really want to hear, but the blue Ranger had given some plausible answers.

"_She likes you. She likes you. She likes you."_

So when Emily opened her eyes Mike leaned in for another one. This time, when they parted Emily didn't run off. She crawled up closer to Mike and rested next to him.

"Hey, Kevin," they heard Mia asking once they were comfortable.

"Yes, Mia," there was a chuckle in Kevin's voice.

"Is it just me, or is that like watching your little brother and sister kiss?" Mia teased.

"That's what that feeling is!" Kevin laughed.

"Ha-ha," Mike frowned before throwing a pillow at Kevin. "You're just jealous."

"Yeah, that's it," Kevin rolled his eyes. "Now remember, kids, I have my eyes on you."

"And we're in the next bed over," Mia added.

"Same goes for you," Emily chimed.

The girls grinned. The boys glared at each other. Things were definitely different in the Shiba house. But everyone was happy.


	30. RJ and Tori's Advice Part I

Mentor Ji stood by the door and watched two of his students with a smile on his face. He knew there were many previous Rangers who he could have asked to come back. He had heard about many of them over the years and, thanks to a few friends who he had never lost touch with, he knew where most of the old Rangers lived and how to reach them.

But he had chosen the Ninja Senseis and the Pai Zhuq Masters for a reason, and he still wasn't regretting it. In fact, he loved his decision even the more. His students would learn a lot from them. From the Ninjas, Kevin and Emily would learn a little more about their symbol power and their own elements, and from the Pai Zhuq, Mia and Mike would learn how to work in the team and how to grow, while still maintaining a certain level of independence.

Out on the training grounds, Mia and Emily were training with RJ and Dustin. It was the perfect match, Mentor believed. His students were learning a lot, and they were eager to continue.

He smiled as he returned to the kitchen. With a lot more mouths to feed, he needed to get an earlier start on lunch than usual.

In the common room, Tori was sitting by Kevin's bedside and holding up a conversation with him, learning about the Samurai Rangers and their battle against Master Xandred. She now understood what Dustin had been trying to tell her in the car about feeling a strange connection and bond. Dustin had felt it with Emily because they shared something in common: the element of earth. Sensei had always told his students that the elements created families, and it was true. While friendships were common amongst Ninjas and even Samurai of different elements, almost nothing was as strong as the bond between two people who both felt at home in the same place.

She felt it with Kevin. The bond. They were both water. They both had a connection to the sea. She knew they could learn a lot from each other, and that was why she was sitting with him now, learning about him. She wanted to help him, but she knew learning was a two way street.

Casey sat with Mike. The former red Ranger had a very different approach to bonding than Tori did. He had asked Mike about his hobbies and what he liked to do for fun and the topic had led to video games. Casey wasn't a video game geek. He had better things to do with his time, but when he did get the chance, he loved to sit down and spend the night in front of the TV with a controller in his hand.

Outside, RJ and Mia were training together. While the Samurai technique was very different from the way of the Pai Zhuq, and the wolf technique, RJ was very impressed to see how open Mia was to different training styles and how ready she was to try something that went beyond what she would learn as a Samurai.

When she knocked him onto his butt, RJ laughed and grabbed his towel. Mia, knowing this meant it was time for a break, sat down next to him.

"You're tough."

"I've been training for years," RJ nodded. "I will admit, you had me worried a number of times. I don't mind getting my butt kicked by a girl, you know, girl power and all, but there's something embarrassing about getting beat by a cub."

"A cub?" Mia asked. She already knew RJ was different. Just by his word choice and his body language she could tell he was an interesting character, but she still hadn't quite figured him out.

"A young student," RJ explained, "Usually it's used for Pai Zhuq students who have just started their training. I, however, use it as a term of endearment for my younger students. I still call Theo, Lily and Casey my cubs, even though they have reached Master status."

"I could get used to that," Mia nodded.

RJ smiled and took a sip of water from his bottle. He then turned to Mia as he placed the cap back on the bottle.

"What drives you to fight?" he asked her. Mia frowned.

"What?"

"Why are you here? Why are you fighting?"

"It's what I was raised to do," Mia shrugged. "My mother fought, my grandmother fought… it goes all the way back… thousands of years back."

She pulled out her Samuraizer and fiddled with it in her hands, "I know I have to fight. If I don't…"

"That's great and all," RJ shook his head. Mia wasn't answering his question, "but why are you here? Why do you stay? Why do you continue to fight? I know you worry. You worry about the team. You worry about your friends."

"Of course I worry," Mia nodded. "I don't have to tell you how close a Ranger family is. I don't want them to get hurt."

"It's more than that…"

"Hold on," Mia turned to RJ, "Are you doing that whole new guy comes in, realises there's a spark between two Rangers and talks them into admitting they have feelings for each other so that by the time new guy leaves, those two are together? If so, I'll just tell you know, Kevin and I are already an item."

"That's not what I'm doing," RJ laughed. "I was going to point out the way you tended to your friends last night. The two boys in bed. You were caring and nurturing."

"They're my team," Mia nodded. "Kevin's my boyfriend, you know that, and Mike's like a little brother. I want to make sure they're okay."

"You want to protect them," RJ smiled. "You're protecting them just like how you're trying to protect Jayden, and just like how you've got your eye on Emily. I'm pretty sure Dustin's not going to hurt her."

"I know," Mia sighed as she looked at her hands.

"It's noble of you to want to look out for your friends," RJ said. He placed his hand on Mia's shoulder. "And there's nothing you can do about the way you feel about all of them. As you said, they're your family. You want to protect them all. I'm a wolf, I know all about that."

"I don't want to see them get hurt," Mia nodded.

"Maybe, your leader, Jayden, feels the same way," RJ mused. He gave Mia a sincere look. "I know it's difficult to understand his reasons for running away and leaving you and your friends without much in the way of protection, but judging by how you talk about your friends, wouldn't you do the same thing if the world was after you and they would do anything to protect you."

"I wouldn't steal their Samuraizers," Mia shook her head. "I wouldn't leave them without a way to defend themselves if they needed it."

"But will you go into battle without your Samuraizer?" RJ asked. "Without the ability to morph, you must know you don't stand much of a chance. There's no way you can protect Jayden unless you are willing to take the bullet and die. He's minimising your chances of getting hurt by keeping you from going out."

"So?"

"So, you have a chance to get him back," RJ smiled. "You understand how he feels. You both want to protect this team. You'll both do anything for them. You don't want them getting hurt to help you, and neither does Jayden. A little understanding and some compromise can go a long way to restoring trust and faith in this team."

Mia took a big breath. She looked over her shoulder where she saw Emily was sitting with Dustin on the bench. She then looked at the window where inside the house; Kevin and Mike were still resting. She knew she would never be able to live with the guilt if any of her friends were hurt because of her. Jayden must have felt the same way. It must have terrified him when she and the others agreed to do whatever it took to protect him. While that decision still stood, maybe it was worth it to review just how far they would all be willing to go. Jayden needed to understand just how important his safety was, but Mia now understood that she and the others needed to as well.

She looked at RJ and nodded her head, "I get it. I get why Jayden's angry, why he took off and why he's got our Samuraizers."

"Alright, then," RJ pushed himself up before offering his hand to Mia, "How about a few more hours of practice before we call it a day and we go try out that kitchen of yours. I've never cooked with Samurai utensils. It seems interesting."

"It's just like kitchen utensils," Mia shrugged, "but, uh, you don't really want my help just yet. I'm not exactly the world's greatest chef."

"Of course not," RJ shook his head, "You're already looking at him."

Mia chuckled before aiming at kick at RJ. He definitely was an interesting character.

On the bench, Emily watched as RJ and Mia resumed their training. She bit her lip and smiled.

"Mia's always so focused," she told Dustin. "But not like Jayden and Kevin focused. She knows when enough is enough."

"Yahuh, so, have you ever buried someone?"

Emily frowned and shook her head, "I don't think so… no. Why?"

"It's funny," Dustin shrugged. "I've never buried anyone either… except me. When I first started training there was an attack I had learn and, well… basically I was supposed to go underground but only made it halfway."

"Huh?" Emily titled her head to the side. Dustin decided to show her. He handed her his bottle and stood in front of her. When he brought his hands together, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Emily scratched her head and looked around. There was a small hole in the ground where he had been standing, but aside from that, there was no sign of him.

"Dustin?" she got up to start looking. "Dustin? Where did you go?"

While Emily searched for her new training partner, Tori couldn't help but laugh from inside as she watched through the window. Dustin had always been one to joke around with younger students. He loved pulling what she and Shane called the _Bugs Bunny_, and disappearing for long periods of time while his students searched for him. It made an excellent ice-breaker during the first classes, and it was always entertaining to see a crowd of Ninjas running around looking for their Sensei.

She heard Kevin was laughing too and turned to him.

"Pretty cool, huh?" she asked. Kevin nodded his head.

"The more I think about it, the more I realise how cool it must be to control your elements like that, without the needs of a Samuraizer or anything. It's just… in you."

"It's in you too," Tori smiled, "You just have a different way of bringing it out."

"I'm useless without my Samuraizer," Kevin shook his head, "I can't even fill a glass of water, never mind defend Jayden or the others."

"Actually, the reason you can't do that is because you're stuck in bed," Tori smirked, "But I think I get what you mean."

"Why would he take my Samuraizer," Kevin asked. "Why wouldn't he accept our help? Why did he just leave us like that? Without a leader. Without someone to call the shots. What are we going to do?"

"Stop asking hard questions, for starters," Tori smiled. She touched Kevin's arm, "Look, this may just be because my leader was a bit of a doofus sometimes, but the leader isn't always the guy who calls the shots. He's just… a glorified Ranger who happens to get the red suit."

"Jayden's different," Kevin shook his head, "Jayden's the man. He's the best. He knows what we're doing and he knows what's best for all of us."

"You have a lot of respect for Jayden."

"I look up to him."

"Want my advice?" Tori asked. Kevin looked at her and nodded. He would love receiving advice from a former blue and fellow water. "Second guess him. All the time."

"What? No way! I trust Jayden! I know it's hard to see, but there has to be a reason he's…"

"Maybe the reason's a stupid one. Maybe Jayden just didn't have anything better to do? Maybe Jayden's waiting for you."

"Me?"

"Not particularly. I meant anyone of you but…" Tori sighed, trying to find a way to word this, "Look, when I said second guess him, I didn't mean go against him. Not every time he makes a decision. Sometimes, the red guy does prove he has leadership skills that surpass everyone else. I mean, he was chosen to lead for a reason. But the only way you can really support him is if every once in a while you go with what you're heart is telling you and you question his decisions."

"I don't follow," Kevin shook his head.

Tori stood up, "Pretend I'm your leader."

"You are my senior," Kevin nodded, "It won't be hard to do."

"Okay, then get up."

"What?"

"You heard me," Tori said, "Get your ass out of that bed."

"But…"

"That's an order, kid."

Kevin sighed and pushed off the blankets. To his surprise, Tori placed her hand on his shoulder and pressed him gently into the pillow again.

"Do you see what I mean?" she asked him, "You're too willing to follow. You'll do anything your leader says. You need to stand up for yourself, and for your team, when you think you have a better idea. Leaders secretly like the challenge. It tells them that they have support and that their team is actually behind them. It also takes off some of the pressure. Not all, not even most, but it helps."

"So…"

"Take charge every once in a while. Don't let Jayden make all the decisions. If he does, he's going to feel alone. You are a team. This is your battle. It's not his battle. You guys aren't his minions. You're his friends. If you want to protect him, you have to let him know that's a choice you guys made on your own, and you're outranking him. He's not going to let you protect him. I wouldn't let anyone protect me. But if you let him know that this isn't a request for him, but a decision you made, he'll know that if you get hurt, it's not entirely his fault."

"So, we need to be more assertive?" Kevin asked as Tori's words started to make sense to him. She nodded her head.

"Don't give him all the responsibilities because he is the man. He's just as lost without the rest of you as you are without him."

"Wise words, Water-Queen," Kevin chuckled. "Now, can you show me some more of that cool water stuff you did. Maybe I will be able to use my powers without the Samuraizer after all.

"Gladly," Tori nodded. She took Kevin's hands, "Close your eyes, think of the water. Focus your mind.


	31. Casey and Dustin's Advice Part II

"You're not allowed to play video games?" Casey gasped as he sat by Mike's bedside. Tori and Kevin were lost in meditation and training, so the two boys felt like they had the room to themselves. "What kind of a place is this?"

"We're allowed to play video games," Mike nodded, easing Casey's panic, "I'm just not allowed. I'm grounded, for good reasons, too."

"What good reason could there possibly be?" Casey frowned. "How are you going to relax? Don't tell me you've started watching lame soap operas with the girls."

"Never," Mike shook his head, "I'm grounded for basically running away and shoving Emily, our yellow Ranger, off a cliff."

Casey frowned, "I thought my team had issues."

"It's not what you think," Mike shrugged, "it's just… I was in a bad place at the time and decided to pull a runner and abandon my friends… kinda like Jayden did. I didn't think things through and when Emily followed me I yelled at her. She ran off, slipped, and fell down a ravine. That's why she looks like she just came out of a blender, by the way."

"Why did you leave?" Casey asked.

"Friction," Mike answered. He looked at Casey, "Kevin and I weren't getting along and I felt like I wasn't any help to the team. I'm not the most committed guy in training, and I'm nowhere near as good as the others. I just thought they would be better off without me."

"You remind me a lot of someone," Casey stroked his chin thoughtfully. Mike smiled.

"Who?"

"Well, at the Pai Zhuq, there was once this kid who got in over his head."

"Who?" Mike asked again, but Casey stuck to his story.

"He hadn't been at the Academy for very long when he was called by his master to be a part of a powerful team. On it were two other members who had been training for years. One was extremely disciplined, and the other was a little more laid back, but picked up on things rather easily. She could do almost anything she set her mind to."

"That kind of reminds me of a few people I know," Mike smirked.

Casey continued, "Anyways, this cub felt like he was always holding his team back. He was never as good as them, and no matter how hard he tried, he always felt like he was on the outside looking in. He tried extra training, but it didn't get him very far. No matter how hard he worked the others were always still one step ahead. I mean, they weren't ever cruel about it, but they always had to look over their shoulder or wait for him to catch up before darting ahead again. It was frustrating for the cub."

"I know how he feels," Mike nodded, "I try, and the others know it, but I'm lacking. Emily and I both feel the same way… but the others like her. She fits in a lot easier."

"That cub used to doubt himself too," Casey smiled. "But he started to believe in himself and now he's in charge of leading the Pai Zhuq Academy… and his boss at work trusts him to run his restaurant when he leaves town. I'm pretty proud of that after my first nearly failed attempt."

Mike turned to Casey and frowned in shock and awe, "That was you?"

"Yep," Casey nodded. "I was the cub. I still am the cub. I'm probably not the best in the Academy. Some students have kicked my butt time and time again, but I never let others tell me how good I am. I know I'm doing my best and I know I'm doing what I can to be even better. Not letting others tell me who to be, that's earned me a lot of respect."

"Really?" Mike asked.

"Definitely," Casey said. "You'll be amazed at how people respect you when you believe in yourself, and when you don't let others tell you who you are and how good you are."

Mike nodded his head, "I guess I did earn myself some respect when I stood up for myself against Kevin."

"And think of it this way, how can you expect others to respect you if you don't respect yourself."

Mike smiled to himself as he thought of the last time he had heard something similar to what Casey had just told him. He had known the right answer back then, and he still knew it now.

"I understand," he said. "I have to do what I think is right, even if the others don't necessarily agree. They don't know me like I know myself."

"They also don't have the same experience you do," Casey added. "Just because someone opposes you, doesn't mean you're in the wrong. Stand up for yourself, and your beliefs. Do what you think is right, even if there's someone telling you otherwise. The best teacher you'll ever have is yourself."

"Thanks, Casey."

"We're here to help," Casey smiled.

Mike tapped his fingers against the mattress of his bed until a thought occurred. He looked at Casey.

"That hypocrite!"

"Excuse me?"

"Jayden!" Mike growled. He crossed his arms over his chest. "When I ran away, he gave me a lecture on how running away was bad, it puts the team in danger, things could have been worse… do you see him anywhere in this house?"

Casey chuckled, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, we reds… sometimes we can be a little stupid. Even we're not perfect."

"Still," Mike crossed his arms, "When that guy gets back I'm so kicking his ass for this."

"You care about your friend."

Mike shook his head and looked at Casey, "What? Duh, but how did you get that…"

"You care. What he does affects you. If it didn't, you wouldn't be concerned about him being a hypocrite. You wouldn't care how he acted, and it's also obvious that you care for your leader. I hate to say it, considering I am one, but everyone cares for their leader."

"Yeah, we do. Jayden's a great guy," Mike nodded. "He's one of my best friends. I would do anything for him… but that's…"

"Obvious?" Casey asked. "Not all the time. Does Jayden know you're protecting him because he's your friend, or because he's got some special symbol power? By the way, awesome powers, and that's coming from the guy who can unleash a tiger from his body."

"I guess we did kind of make it seem like we were only protecting Jayden because he was the man," Mike shrugged his shoulders and traced circles on his bed, "I guess we thought it went without saying that we liked Jayden and he was our friends. It should but…"

"Everyone likes to be reminded," Casey nodded. He got up from his seat and reached under the table, where he had seen piles of board games stacked, "Well, I hope you can still have fun while you're grounded. If you can't play this, then this will be the worst team-up in the history of team-ups."

-Samurai-

Emily stomped her foot on the ground and cried out, "Dustin, this isn't fun anymore! Where are you?"

"Still looking?" Mia teased her friend from the sidelines. Her training with RJ had ended, and the pink and violet Rangers were keeping themselves entertained by watching Emily as she searched for Dustin. The kitchen was still occupied by Mentor Ji, so there wasn't much else for them to do at this time.

"Yes, and it's driving me crazy," Emily kicked up the dirt and received a nasty surprised when it blew up in her face. As the dust settled and Emily tried coughing the dirt and rocks from her lungs, she saw Dustin standing before her.

"That was fun."

Emily shook her head and shoved him, "Where did you go? I've been searching for hours."

"Air people always think they're so cool because they can fly," Dustin said, "and Water people never play fair in water fights, especially when it involves balloons and Tori, but…"

Dustin grabbed Emily's hand and pulled her over to the first hole he had left when he disappeared hours ago. He pointed inside.

"Earth people can make secret forts. Jump in."

Emily watched as the hole opened up. She knew Dustin wanted her to jump inside the pit, or tunnel, or whatever it was, but she was hesitant. She shook her head and took a step back.

"No, thank you."

"C'mon, kid, I won't let it cave in on you," Dustin chuckled, "I'm pretty sure your friends would kill me. Just trust me."

Emily bit her lip and quickly glanced at Mia. The pink Ranger nodded. After all, Mia trusted nothing could be more out there than RJ. Emily felt Dustin tug on her hand and she turned back to him. He motioned to the hole.

"Just jump."

Emily didn't jump, but she did allow Dustin to carefully lower her into the hole. Once she found her bearings in the tunnel down, Dustin let her go and started to climb down with her.

Emily's feet hit solid ground after a minute and she let go of the rock-wall ladder. She turned around and gasped in awe. Dustin was right about earth people being able to make secret forts. Down, underneath the training yard, was a giant underground cave.

"Whoa…"

"Neat, huh," Dustin chuckled as he walked up behind Emily and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "Only one problem, though… I've never been able to get furniture in theses caves and… well, there's no electricity, satellite, or cable… so really it's just a big hole, but I'm proud."

"How did you do this?"

"Earth powers, dude," Dustin smiled. "You can do anything once you've mastered your element. Didn't your mentor teach you that?"

"My sister did," Emily nodded. She stepped into the cave and suddenly that familiar feeling from the motocross track feeling returned, even stronger than before. It still felt like she belonged; like she was somehow connected to her surroundings. It was almost like home.

Dustin must have felt it to. Emily watched as he walked along the wall, letting his hand brush against the earth. He took in a big breath and seemed completely relaxed.

Suddenly, Dustin turned to her and his face lit up.

"Dude, is it true Samurai can conjure up anything with symbol power? Like food and stuff."

"Um, kinda," Emily nodded, "Jayden once created a horse and Kevin said he made a fishing rod once…"

"Do you think you can turn this," Dustin tapped the side wall of the cave, "into a couch."

"What?"

"Nothing fancy," Dustin shrugged, "just, like, a piece of earth in the shape of a couch. That way we have somewhere to sit."

Emily shook her head, "I can't. Jayden took my Samuraizer."

"You mean that thing you had with you when we found you?" Dustin asked. Emily nodded.

"I can't use my powers or morph without it. I could try using Mike's but it might not work, and if it does, it might not work very well, or…"

"Well, all you have to do is write a Kanji in the air, right? Just, trace one with your fingers."

Emily sighed, "It doesn't work that way. I can't…"

"What does the Samuraizer really do aside from help you morph? C'mon, kid, I've taught hundreds of students how to use their powers without help from a little gadget. Surely I can teach you."

Dustin walked over so he was standing in front of Emily. He took her hands.

"Look, if I know Tori, then she's probably up there doing the exact same thing with Kevin. And do you know how she's doing it?"

"No."

"If Kevin's anything like Tori, which he is, considering they are both water people, then he needs to focus. For him, it's all in the mind. He'll have to visualize what he wants, and then he'll have to focus on pulling his powers from deep within. But you and I… we're lucky. We can already feel the power."

"Huh?" Emily cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side. Dustin wasn't making any sense.

"We feel it," Dustin told her, "Everyone with a connection to the earth, the air, the sea, or fire… they feel it. But not in the way we feel it. Shane becomes a lot stronger when he's connected to his element. When he's in his element, there's no stopping him. He can pull his power from within. He can do almost anything. When Tori's in the water, she's completely focused. Her mind is on her task. But when we're connected to the earth, we really feel it. The power comes from inside us. That stupid morpher, or Samuraizer, or whatever you want to call it, it's just a tool. I doubt you're useless without it."

Dustin let go of Emily's hands and hopped over to the wall, "So, couch please!"

Emily wasn't sure this was going to work, but she held her hand out and traced the symbol for couch. Nothing happened.

Dustin sighed. He saw the look on Emily's face. She didn't believe.

"C'mon, squirt, how are you ever going to accomplish anything if you don't believe in yourself? You have the power, I know you do. Feel the earth, connect with it."

Emily nodded her head. This time she closed her eyes and traced the symbol. She focused, but still nothing happened.

"One more time," Dustin encouraged her, "C'mon, you can do it."

Still keeping her eyes closed, Emily took a breath. She could smell the earth and she could hear it moving under Dustin's feet. She could feel her connection to it. This was her element. No one else could do this but her.

She held out her hand one more time and traced the Kanji. Dustin watched in awe as Emily traced the symbol and spun it. The cave began to shake and the wall started to move. Suddenly, from the wall, emerged a chair.

Dustin crossed his arms and tilted his head, "Not what I was expecting, but I guess you are a first timer without the Samuraizer thing…"

Emily held her head, "I don't feel so good."

"Yeah," Dustin stood next to her, "that probably takes a lot more power from you than it ever would me. You Samurai have always used Samuraizers."

"I think I'm going to stick to that," Emily nodded her head.

"But you learned the lesson," Dustin smiled, "Everything you need is already inside you. You can bring it out."

"Can we surface?" Emily asked. She looked up at Dustin, "I love the earth and all, but if I get anymore dirt up my nose, I won't be able to stop sneezing."

"Exit's this way," Dustin chuckled as he pointed Emily in the direction of the second hole in the cave.


	32. Finding Jayden

Still on his own, Jayden walked through the streets, surprised by how well he could blend in. He didn't grow up in the city like most people. He and Mentor Ji had visited occasionally during his childhood, but Jayden had never been part of the city in the way most people were. He viewed this city as something he needed to protect. He always had. It was how he was raised. He spent all his time at home, training to live up to his responsibility of being the red Samurai Ranger – leader of all Samurai Ranger – just like his father.

Ever since he had left the Shiba house, he couldn't stop thinking about his friends. He loved them dearly, and never wanted to see any of them suffer. But the way they went on about protecting him and doing everything they could to keep him safe, it scared Jayden. It scared him to his very core. Nothing had ever terrified him so much. He couldn't ever bear the thought of losing any of the people who were so close to him. He had made a vow to himself to protect them. They had families, they had lives. This was his mission.

The gap sensor was one of his biggest fears. When it rang, Jayden put on a brave face. He knew someone would get hurt. He knew someone would be hit, kicked, and he would be in charge of bringing back an injured friend for Mentor to treat.

But when Mike and Kevin took that hit for him, it had been way too much for Jayden to take. They were hurt, badly. Jayden hadn't seen them since he had stolen Kevin's Samuraizer, but if he was right then they would still be in bed recovering. It was his fault.

He didn't want to put them in danger. Not anymore. If something happened to them because of him he wouldn't be able to bear the guilt. It would destroy him.

He could feel Kevin and Emily's Samuraizers in his pockets. He knew it was a risky plan to take away their only form of protection, but as long as it kept them and the others off the battlefield, Jayden was certain they would be out of danger.

-Samurai-

"Just… try standing," Tori shrugged her shoulders. She was standing in front of Mike and Kevin's bed. She and the others had been at the Shiba house for a couple of days now and she was starting to think – along with the others – that given the chance, Mike and Kevin would be fine to start walking around again.

"Weren't you the one who told me to stand up for myself?" Kevin said with a smirk as he looked at his predecessor. Tori crossed her arms over her chest.

Dustin hissed, "Dude, don't piss her off! I have to drive home with her."

"I'm comfortable," Mike whined. He pulled the blankets over his head, "And my head hurts, my back hurts, my…"

Dustin shook his head and looked at Emily. News travelled quickly in the Shiba house, and word of Mike and Emily's kiss had reached the Ninja and Pai Zhuq's ears. Dustin knew that if anyone could convince Mike to get out of it was her.

Emily grinned and jumped up on Mike's bed.

"Get up!" she called as she pounced on all fours on Mike's bed. "C'mon, lazy bones! Up, up, up!"

"Dude! Five more minutes…"

Mia looked at Kevin, "If you don't get up, I'm sending her over to your bed."

Kevin's eyes widened. He sat up and stretched himself out. He was sore, and rather tired, but he did not want to deal with the bouncy and energetic Emily. With a little help from RJ and Casey, Kevin got out of his bed and for the first time in days his feet touched the floor and he stood without support from his friends.

He turned to Mike who was buried somewhere under the mess of blankets created by Emily's jumping and Mike's squirming, "You know, this isn't bad. It feels good to be of some use again."

"Get her off me!" his muffled cries were heard through the blankets and the others sniggered. Emily finally found the opening in the blankets and pulled them down, revealing Mike.

"Morning," she smiled. Mike smiled back before pushing her off his bed. Emily screamed but grabbed his arms as she rolled, bringing him with her.

"Oof," somehow Mike landed on his back on the floor with Emily on top of him. He knew he was always going to catch her when she fell, but this was getting excessive.

Emily got off Mike and dusted herself off as she got to her feet. Mike painfully gripped the side of his bed as he too stood up for what felt like the first time in years. He took a few breathes before glaring at his team and their friends, "Happy?"

"Very," Casey chuckled. He quickly looked to the others who had been invited here by the Samurai before turning back to the Rangers, "We were thinking of running you guys through a quick training lesson while we had some time. We all know how unpredictable trouble can be."

"After lunch we'll head out and find your red Ranger," RJ added with a nod. "You guys aren't a team without him, and I think you've all learned that you need him just as much as he needs you."

"Question is: does he know that?" Mia sighed. Kevin wrapped his arms around her and leaned into her both for comfort and for support. He wasn't exactly fluid and graceful on his feet yet and knew it would take a bit of time for him to find his land legs. Mia didn't seem to mind, though. After all, while he was using her for support, he was also holding her close, something he hadn't been able to do properly while his arm had been wrapped up.

-Samurai-

The formers weren't going easy on any of the Rangers. Not when they knew it was possible that the upcoming battle was a difficult one. Even Mia, who was at full strength, found herself on the ground too many times to count. After a final beating, she got to her feet and walked over to the bench, where her teammates were sitting. She grabbed the spot beside Kevin.

"This sucks."

"You know, when Mentor said we would be getting help, I thought they would be taking up our Samurai duties for a few days," Mike frowned, "Not kicking our asses back into bed."

"Last time I took over, I had six Rangers hating me for a few months," Tori chuckled as she too took a seat. The three other boys joined her. "Trust me, its better this way."

"You guys are going to help, right?" Emily asked. "We're all okay, but you never know…"

"We'll be watching your backs," Casey assured her, "but getting your team back together, that's your job."

"But we don't have our Samuraizers," Kevin frowned. He looked at Emily, "We can't morph."

"But you can use your powers," Tori smiled. She placed her hand on Kevin's arm, "Just remember to focus."

"We'll take the big hits for you guys," Mike nodded. He had seen what Kevin was capable of doing now that Tori had shown him how to focus his mind and unleash his water powers without using the Samuraizer. It was draining for the blue Ranger, and Mike assumed it was the same for Emily, but at least it got the job done.

"Yeah, and you probably won't even have to worry about that," Mia smiled to Kevin, "We'll find Jayden, I know we will. He'll give you back your Samuraizers."

"Or he'll take yours away," Emily said. She glanced at Mia, "Remember, he told you already that if he saw you he would take it away."

"He's not getting my Samuraizer," Mia shook her head, "If he knows what's good for him, and this team, he won't touch it."

"And let's be fair," Mike chuckled, "Pink shirts is probably as far as Jayden will ever go. Something tells me tight, bright, pink spandex is stretching it just a little."

"There's a terrible image stuck in my head," Casey frowned. He titled his head to the side and began smacking his head to rid it of the image of Jayden stretching Mia's pink Ranger suit. "Wow, skirt and everything…"

"Rangers, friends," Mentor called from the house, "Lunch time."

"Eat quickly, guys," Kevin said, "We need to find Jayden before anyone else does."

-Samurai-

Somewhere between the previous night and the afternoon, Jayden had made it to the beach. He sat on a bench and looked out at the sea, completely mesmerized by the waves and trapped in thought. When he first left, he imagined the longer he was away from his friends, the easier it would be to stay away and forget them, but Jayden was finding this more and more difficult. Alone, on the beach, he was starting to miss the business of the Shiba home, with seven residents all fighting over the TV, or the bathroom, or even the best seat at the dinner table.

He missed the giggles shared between Kevin and Mia when they stayed up late at night to get some alone time together. They never knew this, but Jayden could hear them from his bedroom at night. The house was silent enough, and Jayden's ears were well trained to pick up small noises. He never listened for it, and always tried to give his two friends privacy, but occasionally Mia and Kevin's laughter and flirting would keep him awake at night. It used to bother him, but now he missed it. Now, he fell asleep to the sound of cars driving by on the street. It wasn't as warm or friendly.

He missed Mike's insane snoring. That was another noise Jayden could hear from his room that would keep him up until the early hours of the morning. Before he ran off, he used to imagine himself choking the life out of Mike, thinking that once that evil deed was done, he would be able to get a good night's sleep. But now that he didn't have the luxury of getting front row seats to the nasal trumpet band, Jayden missed it.

He missed being woken up early in the morning on days off by Emily bouncing around. She was still a child inside and out, even at sixteen. She never woke up before Jayden, but she would definitely snap out of her morning slump long before him, or any of the others. Before breakfast was on the table she would be bouncing around the kitchen, the living room, or the training yard. Her enthusiasm used to bother Jayden. She was so unfocused at times. But, just like with the other little things, he missed it.

He let out a sigh as he watched the water. The waves rolled in before they were pulled back out to sea. He was about to get up to find somewhere else to roam when he heard the sound of a young child crying from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a little boy sitting alone on a park bench. The boy was clearly upset; Jayden could see that from where he was sitting.

He grabbed his bag and slowly walked over, trying not to frighten the child. He was a stranger after all.

He knelt down in front of the little boy on the bench and offered a friendly, yet very soft smile.

"What's wrong, buddy?"

The little boy looked up, "My daddy went away for a job and I miss him."

"Yeah, I know how you feel. I miss my dad too," Jayden nodded his head as memories flooded his mind once again. This time, they were of his father leaving him when he was only a young boy. He remembered watching his father closely as the former red Ranger said goodbye to him and handed him his lion Zord. He could also remember the orders his father had given him; the responsibilities of the red Ranger.

"_Remember; protect the world from evil, stand by your allies, never run from a battle."_

Jayden lived by the rules. He had since the day his father left.

Jayden was ripped from his thoughts when he heard the little boy asking if he was okay. He smiled and nodded as he took a seat on the bench beside the boy and pulled out his Samuraizer.

His father had left Jayden with one other thing before he disappeared. Jayden created a paper with his Samuraizer and began folding it into an airplane. The little boy's face lit up when Jayden gently tossed it into the wind and the paper plane soared through the sky, across the park where all the other kids were playing.

The little boy hopped off the bench to chase after the airplane and Jayden couldn't help but smile. The boy leaped and held his hands up, but the airplane was just out of his reach. He continued to chase it and giggle loudly as the plane drifted through the skies.

Jayden felt something tug on his heart. He could picture Emily doing the very same thing. In fact, she had when Mike first showed her how to make _Mike's Megaship_, as the green Ranger called it.

His thoughts strayed from Emily to Mike. If Mike were here, he would making his own piece of paper and trying to outdo Jayden's airplane by making one that was bigger, better and faster. If he wasn't doing that, though, he would be flirting shamelessly with Emily.

Jayden chuckled. Flirting; just like Kevin and Mia. As he thought of the couple, his mind focused on Kevin. If Mike was trying to outdo Jayden's airplane, Kevin would be looking over his shoulder, trying to help but only succeeding at frustrating Mike by undermining his paper plane making abilities. There was no doubt in Jayden's mind that the blue Ranger would anger Mike to the point where they would once again begin to bicker.

That left Mia, standing by Jayden's side and shaking her head at all the nonsense. Jayden could picture it clearly in his mind. By now, Emily would have tripped over, or run into something, Kevin and Mike would be at each other's throats, and Mia would be trying to break it up while also trying to make sure Emily was okay.

Jayden missed his friends, but these memories and these feelings only confirmed his initial belief. He needed to leave them behind. He needed to keep them safe. He couldn't risk losing them, and as much as it hurt him to keep his distance, he knew he would rather stay away and have them safe and alive, than any of the alternative.

He looked at the young boy one last time before turning his back. The boy would be fine now. His father would come home, and until then, the boy still had Jayden's airplane.

But when Jayden turned around, he heard a noise that made his heart sink. He closed his eyes, hoping it wasn't true. He heard it again.

"That's irritating."

"This is what… _hic_! happens when you shove food down my throat! I… _hic_-up. Did you really not see it com… _hic_!.. ing…?"

"That's the last time I tell you to…"

"_Hic_!"

"… eat quickly…"

With a sigh, Jayden opened his eyes and saw his friends walking along the beach, accompanied by four strangers, though Jayden presumed that they were friends. Hoping the Rangers hadn't seen him yet; he turned his back to them and took a step in the opposite direction.

Suddenly, he heard his name.

"Jay… _hic_!"

Well, part of it, anyways. Knowing he had been spotted he broke into a run knowing that if they caught him, it would all be over.


	33. Rangers Together

Jayden ran, as fast as his legs could carry him, but he didn't get far. He nearly cleared the park when Moogers appeared. He groaned, knowing they would come after him, but also knowing they wouldn't spare the lives of anyone in the park, especially the children.

He skidded to a stop and dropped his bag. He couldn't morph, not in the crowded park and all the people watching him, but he could take on the Moogers without help from his Ranger powers. He knew he had to.

"Hey! Moogers!" he shouted, grabbing their attention. As they turned to him, Jayden cast a glance over at the other Rangers and their friends. He saw they were getting the people and the kids out of the park. If they knew what was good for them, they would leave as well. Moogers weren't the strongest of enemies, but they had proven that they knew how to play dirty.

Jayden kicked at several Moogers while trying to keep their attention on him and only him while the kids and everyone else fled from the park. Just when he thought he was almost done with the Moogers, he saw another army of them rushing over to attack. This time, Jayden was also met with the Nighlok from back at the quarry. He felt something bubbling in his stomach as he glared at the Nighlok. It was stronger.

"All alone, Red Ranger?" the Nighlok teased as the Moogers inched closer to Jayden.

"I don't need any help to defeat you!" Jayden shouted bravely. As the Moogers rushed him he summoned his spin sword. It was heavy, especially without the added strength of his Ranger powers and his inability to get a good night's sleep since he left the Shiba house, but Jayden knew he had to defeat the Moogers and the Nighlok on his own.

He tired quickly, and misjudged the swing of one of the Mooger's swords. With a flip, Jayden hit the ground hard and dropped his sword a little ways away.

Over by the beach, the other Rangers and the former Rangers had just finished getting all the other people to safety when they say Jayden struggling with the Moogers. The minions were closing in on Jayden's seemingly defeated form, and the Nighlok was laughing as he approached the red Ranger.

Tori gave Kevin a look, "You guys help Jayden."

"We've got these ugly demons covered," Casey finished. He stepped forward, "Unleash the tiger!"

"Dude!" Mike cried in awe as a red tiger emerged from Casey's chest and bounced through the crowd of Moogers, tearing many of them apart.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Dustin nodded, "Now go!"

The Samurai Rangers did as they were told and pushed through the Moogers with ease. Their new friends, as well as their new friends' powers, were interesting to the Moogers.

"Jay… _hic!.. _den!" Emily cried as she knelt down beside Jayden and helped him sit up. Mia, Kevin and Mike stood before him, blocking the Nighlok's path to the red Ranger.

Jayden tried to push Emily away; "You guys shouldn't be here!" he told them. He got to his feet, "You're going to get hurt."

"Newsflash," Mike glanced over his shoulder, "So are you."

"I can't let you guys fight," Jayden shook his head. He stepped forward and tried to break through the wall his friends had formed between him and the Nighlok, but none of them were letting him pass.

"Don't you get it, Jayden, we don't care if we get hurt," Kevin said. He looked Jayden in the eye, "Protecting you is our choice."

"Yeah, dude, you're the only one with the sealing power," Mike nodded his head, "Plus, we can't figure out who gets your room."

"We want to help you, Jayden," Emily added with a smile as she stood up beside her leader. She took his hand, "You're our friend."

"You're all hurt," Jayden growled, "You can't…"

"We love you, Jayden," Mia smiled. "Like Emily said: you're our friend. We don't want you getting hurt either. Can we just fight this Nighlok together and then talk it out at home?"

Defeated, the Moogers all vanished, leaving only the Nighlok, the Rangers, and their helpers in the park. Dustin, RJ, Tori and Casey hurried to the current Rangers and stood behind them.

"You guys might want to take this guy down quickly," Casey said, "He won't stand there for long."

"C'mon, Jayden," Mia begged while the others kept their eyes on their leader, waiting for his answer, "We're here to help you! We want to help you!"

"We are going to help you," Kevin stated without hesitation. He stood strong before his leader and the others all nodded in agreement with him. Jayden looked down and nodded his head. He reached into his pocket.

"Here," he said to Kevin as he handed the blue Ranger his Samuraizer, "If you're going to help me, you'll need this."

He turned to Emily and placed her Samuraizer in her hand.

"Th… _hic!_"

"You're welcome," Jayden laughed. He turned to the Nighlok, "This ends now! Go, go Samurai!"

-Samurai-

When the battle ended, Jayden sat in the park, still unsure of whether or not he wanted to go home. His team, his friends, had helped him defeat the Nighlok, and he knew he wouldn't have been able to do it without them, but he still wasn't sure if he was ready to put them at risk.

Suddenly, he noticed Casey, the former red Ranger, taking a seat next to him. He turned to the Tiger Master.

"I thought you were saying goodbye to the others," he said. "Now that they found me, isn't your mission done?"

"Your team's strong again. They're ready to fight, but my mission isn't done," Casey shook his head, "Are you going home with them?"

"I don't know if I can," Jayden sighed, "They were hurt because of me."

"I won't lie, they were hurting," Casey said. "When RJ and I arrived, Mike and Kevin were really suffering, but after seeing that double slash blast attack thing, I can see why. That was one powerful monster."

"They shouldn't have taken that hit," Jayden shook his head and his knuckles turned white as he wrapped his fingers tightly around his Samuraizer. "I'm the one with the sealing power. I'm the one who should fight Master Xandred. They don't need to put their lives in danger."

"They don't need to," Casey nodded, "So why don't you go home with them and ask them why they do. Why do they insist on fighting at your side? If you're going to lead the team, it's important you understand them."

Casey got up as the others joined him. He held his hand out for Jayden, "I'm Casey, by the way."

"Tori," Tori smiled before she pointed to Dustin who had both hands down his pants, "Sadly… that's my friend Dustin."

"Dude, never ask Emily if she figured out how to whip up a sandstorm unless you want sand in your pants," Dustin whined while Emily laughed. It was Dustin's fault for teaching her without really getting to know her. Everyone knew she was accident-prone and things weren't always so smooth in training.

"RJ," RJ was last to say. He smiled at Jayden, "You have an interesting team. They all have a lot of potential. Promise us you'll never run off on them again."

"He's got to head home with them, first," Casey said to the wolf Master. "Jayden, what do you say?"

Jayden took a big breath and stood up, "Thank you for helping my team. I'm sure they learned a lot from you."

"We took some time to train them," RJ nodded. "You'll be glad to hear they've all passed. My cub's definitely a fierce warrior, even without a sword in her hands."

Mia blushed and smiled as RJ wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I'll head home," Jayden said. "Apparently, I've missed out on a lot."

"Really?" Mia asked with relief in her voice. Finally the team would be back together. She loved her new friends and getting some extra help, but things had been very different since Jayden left.

"Finally, dude," Mike nodded, "I was starting to think you were never going to come home and my punishment was never going to be lifted."

"It's good to have you back," Kevin smiled to Jayden, "But we do have some things to settle."

"And a… _hic!.._ lot to talk about," Emily said.

"For the love of… come here!" Tori pulled Emily away, determined to solve the hiccup problem that had been plaguing the yellow Ranger since lunch.

Jayden looked at the remaining help, "Again, I thank you. We owe you for your services."

"Just tell us the fastest route back home," RJ smiled, "I'm sure the others are wondering when we'll be back."

"Or where we are," Dustin chuckled, "Kelly thought Tori and I were just driving Emily home. She's probably pissed off about me missing my last couple of shifts."

"If you ever need help again," Casey said, "You know how to reach us."

"Hopefully we won't," Mia nodded before hugging RJ, "Thank you."

The others followed her lead, each hugging their new friends before sending them off.

-Samurai-

Mentor was in the kitchen preparing a big meal for Jayden's return. He had been asked to stay out of the way while the five friends spoke to each other about what they needed to do as a team in order to work together to defeat Master Xandred.

Mia was first to speak, breaking the silence that had been present since Mentor Ji had left.

"Look, Jay, before we start, we want to let you know that we understand why you ran off and that we're not mad at you."

"Anymore," Mike chuckled before he was silenced by a glare from Mia.

The pink Ranger smiled at her leader, "When RJ was here he made me see things a little clearer. I know how hard it is to watch people you care about putting themselves at risk for you. It's not fun… it's actually really terrifying."

"I guess you were the only one who was actually strong enough to battle, "Jayden nodded.

"I was worried sick for days," Mia said. "I mean, there was no way Kevin or Mike would be able to get out of bed, but my mind still went to worst-case scenario. I was afraid that if something happened to me, they would try to help and they would only get hurt. I didn't want that to happen."

"It probably didn't help when you had to drag Lady Slips-A-Lot into battle with you."

Mia couldn't help but agree with Jayden, "Yeah. I'm only telling you this so you know… we understand what you're going through. Maybe not to the fullest, but we're all here for you. If you ever need us, you know we're ready to help."

"Thanks, Mia," Jayden smiled. He looked at the others, "I've never doubted any of you."

"And," Mike started his apology, "I just… we wanted to… you know you're our friend, right Jayden?"

Jayden nodded, "Yes."

"Well… I mean, we wanted to protect you because you're… we'll you're the man, like I said… but even if you weren't… even if it was Kevin who had the sealing power, or Mia, or Emily, or me… we would still want to protect you. We care about you, dude. We care a lot. We want to protect you because you're our friend. Mostly because you're a friend. Not just because you've got some secret power."

"I should have known that," Jayden lowered his head. "I guess it just never occurred to me that you guys were able to make your own decisions about what you were going to do in battle."

"We will now," Kevin said with a smile, "We're not going to let you shoulder all the responsibility. I mean, knowing you have to master that seal must be a lot of pressure. Whatever we can do to lighten the load, we'll do it."

"Yeah, we're a team!" Emily chirped. "What the point of having five Samuraizers if the world only needed one hero?"

"I guess I let my insecurities get the better of me," Jayden admitted with a sigh. He was disappointed in himself. He knew running off was a rookie mistake. He had put his team in danger and had no doubt hurt them deeply. He knew they deserved an explanation, "I've always known about the sealing powers. Mentor's been training me to master my symbol since I was a young boy. But I've never come close to perfecting the seal symbol. I was starting to think I wouldn't ever be able to do it."

"But you can, Jayden," Kevin smiled before he looked at Emily. While Mike and Mia had learned a few new battle techniques from their Pai Zhuq mentors, Kevin and Emily had learned how to pull all the power they needed from within themselves. Though it was still going to take a lot of hard work and effort to master the new abilities, but Kevin was now able to manipulate small bodies of water. It took a lot of energy, and wasn't something Kevin would do without his Samuraizer just yet, especially in battle, but it was still a neat trick in case of an emergency.

Emily started bouncing in her seat, "Kevin's right, Jayden! When we were training with Tori and Dustin, they told us all about how all the power and strength we needed was inside of us. You have the power to master that symbol! You just need to believe in yourself!"

Jayden wasn't exactly sure what the youngest Ranger meant by this, and it was evident on his face, so Emily tossed him her Samuraizer.

Jayden frowned as he caught the device. What could she possibly want to show him?

He watched as Emily traced a Kanji in the air with her finger. His eyes widened when, without the Samuraizer, the Kanji appeared. When Emily spun it, Jayden was assaulted by a small sand storm. It knocked him off his stool.

"Oops!" Emily cried as she covered her mouth and nose with her hand. Kevin chuckled as he reached over to help his leader back onto the stool.

"Yeah, Tori and Dustin were only here for a few days… and Emily got more training then I did, so we'll just leave it at that…"

"Are you okay, Jayden?" Emily asked as Jayden found his seat. He nodded and gave her the Samuraizer back.

"I'm fine."

"Well, I wanted to show you that everything you can do now… it's not because of the Samuraizer, or because you were taught how to use it. It's already inside of you. Everything you learned up until now, you were shown and you figured it out on your own."

"And if you can't figure out the symbol seal, we're all here to help you," Mike smiled. "If two heads are better than one, imagine what five heads can do when they work together."

"But you can't run off again," Kevin said with a tone that told Jayden the blue Ranger was giving him an order, instead of just making a request. He nodded.

"We're in this together."


	34. Activating the Gap Sensors

It didn't take long for Jayden to settle back into his regular routine. With his friends at his side, everything was much easier.

He had been given an extra few hours of training as punishment from Mentor Ji for running off, which he accepted gracefully. He also had to endure disappointed looks from Mike, who reminded him constantly about the lecture he had given the green Ranger when he had abandoned his friends. In order to get Mike off his back, and because he thought he deserved it, Jayden finally lifted Mike's punishment and was allowing the green Ranger to leave the Shiba house whenever he wanted, as long as he did come back. Not only did these rules apply to Mike, but everyone intended on following them. The Ranger group was a family, and family always stuck together, even when things were difficult.

Just after dinner the day after Jayden returned home, he was sitting outside, staring up at the sky as the sun slowly set and the stars covered the space above him. One of the things he had always loved about the Shiba house was that it was so isolated from the city that the stars were always flooding the sky at night. There weren't many places left where Jayden could see the stars which such clarity. After all, he had never really left the house. He had been too focused on training.

He decided to wait up for Mike and Emily, who were taking advantage of Mike's punishment being lifted to go on a real date as a follow up to the kiss they had shared in Jayden's absence. While he waited, he couldn't help but think about everything that had happened, from his friends learning about his secret power, to them fighting to get him back on their side. He felt badly for hurting them, because he knew how much it hurt to watch someone walk away, without knowing if he was going to return.

He sighed deeply before hearing footsteps approaching from the house. Without glancing over his shoulder he knew it was Mia who was coming out to join him. Her footsteps were light and gentle, making almost no sound. But Jayden heard them and welcomed her company.

"Are you bored too?" she asked as she took the spot next to him. Jayden shook his head.

"Just thinking."

"It'll probably be a few hours before Mike and Emily get home," Mia said, "Why don't the three of us do something? Tori had a few old games in her van that she left for us. We can try them out."

"You and Kevin can go ahead," Jayden continued to gaze up at the stars, "I'm just going to sit out here."

There was a brief silence before Kevin walked out of the house with a Popsicle in his mouth and two unwrapped in his hands. He sat beside Mia and handed her and Jayden the treats.

"We didn't get dessert today," he told them, "I figured why not."

"Thanks," Jayden accepted the frozen treat and popped it in his mouth. His gaze returned to the sky. By now the sun had set completely and darkness had fallen over the Shiba house. Only the moon and the stars offered any light. Mentor Ji was in his bedroom on the other side of the house, and all the lights in the rest of the home were shut off.

"You know, the house is never this quiet," Kevin commented, "It's amazing how much peace we can find when we take both Emily and Mike out of the picture."

"They are the loudest," Mia chuckled with a nod. She looked at Jayden, "You're lucky you don't have to wake up to either of them."

"Technically," Kevin smirked, "I don't wake up to Mike. I wake him up. That kid could sleep through a hurricane."

"Then he and Emily are perfect together," Mia laughed, "She doesn't have a snooze button."

Jayden turned to his pink and blue teammates, "Are you two trying to distract me from my own thoughts?"

Kevin and Mia exchanged a look.

"You just seem so quiet and…"

"You're not still beating yourself up about leaving, are you?" Kevin asked. "You know we forgive you, right? Everything's okay. You're our leader and no matter what we're going to trust you."

"And you're our friend," Mia smiled. She rested her head on Jayden's shoulder, "And friends don't let friends stay in the past. We're moving on. We'll forget what's happened. We'll forget everything. We're a team, you, me, Kevin, Mike and Emily and that starts now. No more what ifs."

"Or buts," Kevin smirked.

"Or if only."

"Or should have."

"Or…"

"I get it guys," Jayden chuckled. He took Mia's hand and looked at Kevin, "Thanks."

"So are you up for a game?" Mia asked as she lifted her head and looked Jayden in the eyes, "We can probably squeeze in a few proper games before Mike comes home and ruins it with all his new rules."

Jayden nodded and followed his friends back into the house. As they pulled out one of the many new games Tori had left for them, Jayden's eyes strayed to the gap sensor and he had a nagging feeling he had forgotten something. Just as Kevin claimed the race car, Jayden figured out what it was.

"Dammit!" he cried out and bolted for the door. Kevin and Mia exchanged looks.

"Way to go," Mia rolled her eyes teasingly, "I told you Jayden would want to be the race car."

"Let's just go after him," Kevin shook his head before he and Mia raced after Jayden.

-Samurai-

Mia and Kevin only caught up with Jayden once they reached the city. They had never walked the city streets this late at night, not unless a Nighlok was attacking the city. It was eery and silent and very empty. Naturally, there wasn't a single person in the streets aside from the Rangers. Everybody was indoors.

Jayden was kneeling by a curb. When Mia and Kevin approached him, they saw he was fiddling with a miniature version of the Gap Sensor they had at home.

"So, that's how the map picks up on Nighlok activity," Mia pondered a loud as she and Kevin dropped down beside Jayden. "What are you doing with it?"

"When I ran off I deactivated them," Jayden explained. "I didn't want you guys knowing there was trouble. I was scared you were going to get hurt."

"And you didn't turn them back on?" Kevin asked. Jayden shook his head before the little Gap Sensor lit up briefly. He smiled and stood up.

"Only a few more to go."

"How many is a few?" Mia frowned. It was a rather large city, and if the gap sensors were scattered everywhere, there were definitely more than a few.

"We should be done by morning," Jayden answered her, hiding the smirk on his face as he teased. "If we split up, we may be done earlier."

Mia groaned as Jayden started to walk off in search of the next sensor. She glared at Kevin.

"You should have just let him be the race car…"

-Samurai-

On the date, Mike had decided to take Emily out to dinner and a movie. Unlike Kevin and Mia's date, where the couple had a hard time finding a conversation starter, Mike and Emily couldn't stop talking and trading stories over dinner. They laughed, they smiled, and at some points, when one of them would go back to their childhood and talk about any hardships they faced, they would even tear up.

They had gotten so lost in their conversation, though, that they had forgotten they needed to be at the theatre on time. When they did arrive, they were sad to find out that the movie they planned on seeing was sold out. But instead of turning around and heading home, Mike decided they would catch another movie: Zombie Monster Horror IV. Emily had been reluctant at first. She had never been a fan of zombies, or monsters or horror. Hell, she wasn't even a huge fan of the number four, to be quite honest, but Mike talked her into it.

There was no reason for her to be scared. The visual effects were terrible and she knew the blood, guts and severed body parts were all fake. Not to mention the fact that the characters in the movie were doing something similar to what she did on a daily basis – fighting ugly looking monsters.

However, Emily was terrified. And to make matters worse, Mike wanted to watch the movie in 3D. Emily's only saving grace occurred halfway through the movie when she jumped and the glasses fell from her face, under her seat, and she was too terrified to retrieve them.

By the time the movie ended, Emily was curled up in Mike's arms. Her face was buried in his chest and Mike could feel her tiny body shaking. Convinced the fear was only temporary (it always was with him), he tapped the top of her head and laughed.

"Em, it's over."

Emily stopped shaking and looked up at Mike. She glared at him.

"I hate you."

"You fight monsters every day," Mike chuckled. He took her hand and led her out of the theatre, "Don't tell me cheap effects scare you to pieces."

"Please don't talk about pieces," Emily whined. She pulled in closer to Mike, "I would rather not think about pieces of anything until I get that movie out of my head."

Mike grinned and wrapped his arms around her as they stood on the street, "You're safe with me, you know that."

"Yeah, I do," Emily nodded as she held him tightly. She knew that if anyone else had taken her to this movie, this would be the point where she would be completely frozen in terror. But because it was Mike, she knew she was safe. Even if the movie was real and zombies did start attacking and eating every human in sight, she knew Mike would protect her.

They were about to hop onto the bus to head home when Mike spotted Jayden, Mia and Kevin across the street. Unsure of why they weren't home at this time of night, he told Emily to forget the bus and as it drove off, he walked her across the street to join the others.

"Aren't you guys taking this older sibling thing a little too far?" Mike teased playfully when he knew they could hear him. "I promised I would be a gentleman and I've kept my word. You don't have to spy on me."

"You're not the screw up this time, Mike," Kevin chuckled, "Our red Ranger forgot to turn on all the gap Sensors."

"What do you mean?" Emily frowned. She turned to Jayden, who was kneeling next to a restaurant wall. She looked at his hands and saw he was fiddling with a little gap Sensor, "Isn't there just like… a little switch or something?"

"If there was, we wouldn't be out here turning them all on manually," Mia sighed with her arms crossed. She looked at Emily and Mike, "So, how was the date."

"The world ended, people were eaten alive and the living dead took over the earth," Mike said casually, ignoring the look on Mia, Kevin and Jayden's faces and they turned to him. He chuckled and shook his head, "Wait, sorry, that was the movie."

"The date was good," Emily smiled, "The movie… eh…"

"Why does that sound like a horror movie?" Kevin frowned.

Jayden went back to activating the gap Sensor, "Because it is one. I saw the listing for Zombie Monster Horror on the internet. I didn't think you would go there on your date."

"Not by choice," Emily said. "The movie we wanted to see was sold out."

"But Zombie movies don't faze me," Mike grinned. He wrapped his arm around Emily, "And this one isn't afraid of a little zombie attack, right Em?"

"Zombies aren't real," Emily said, hoping she sounded convincing. She knew the truth was that Zombies weren't real, but her imagination was still rather active. She nestled in closer to Mike.

"If you're both sure," Mia said sceptically. She turned to Jayden, "So, how many more gap sensors are left now?"

"Just a few," Jayden answered with a chuckle. Mia rolled her eyes. Jayden stood up and clapped his hands together, "I'm serious this time. It only takes a few hours when you know where all the sensors are."

"So we will get some shut-eye after all," Kevin nodded.

"Anyone care to tell me why all these sensors were turned off in the first place?" Mike frowned. He knew there was no way a regular civilian could turn them off if they noticed them. And a Nighlok would trigger them long before he had the chance to deactivate even a single one. There was no reason why they should have been turned off.

"Let's just say I went a little overboard trying to keep you guys safe," Jayden answered. He pointed in various directions, "There are only a couple more. If you guys don't mind…"

"Anything to get home sooner," Emily nodded as she pulled Mike towards one of the sensors. Zombies weren't real and she knew that very well, but standing in the middle of the street in the middle of the night wasn't helping her imagination at all. She just wanted to get home.

When she and Mike found the sensor, Emily got to work activating it. The sensor was rather small, and Emily's fingers were much smaller than Mike's, making it easier for her to work her way around the device.

As he watched her, Mike couldn't help but notice her hands were shaky. It almost felt like he was watching her diffuse a ticking time bomb and there were only a few seconds left. He knelt down next to her.

"Em, are you sure that movie didn't scare you," he asked. "It's okay if it did. I'm a little freaked right now. But it's not real. There are no such things as zombies."

"I know," Emily nodded. She kept her focus on the Gap Sensor, "I am a little jumpy, but it's like you said, I know I'm safe with you."

"Good," Mike smiled. He placed his hand on her back, "I would never let anything happen to you."

"I know," Emily nodded again. The Gap Sensor lit up briefly as she turned to Mike. He turned his back to her before looking over his shoulder.

"Hop up," he said, "if you're lucky, you might fall asleep before we get home and you won't have to worry about being alone tonight."

"Okay," Emily grinned as she climbed up on his back, "But you have to promise you'll tuck me in and stay with me until I do fall asleep. I trust Mia, but I don't think she'll be able to fight off zombies like you."


	35. Sleepless Nights

Mia tossed and turned in her bed. For some reason she couldn't sleep. It bothered her greatly, and the nuisance of being unable to sleep was keeping her awake. Normally, when she couldn't sleep, she knew the reason. She was uncomfortable, she wasn't tired, she was worried, she was scared, she was alone.

But tonight was nothing like that. She was extremely comfortable in her bed. She had just washed the sheets that day and always loved falling asleep in the new bed sheets, knowing they were clean and fresh. She was worn out from walking around the city trying to reactivate the gap sensors. She knew she had nothing to worry about. Her friends were all at home, safe and sound. She hadn't been the one to watch a horror movie, so she knew she had nothing to fear, and she wasn't alone. Emily was sleeping in the bed on the other side of the room.

She rolled over and pulled the blankets over her head, hoping maybe that would work. The room was dead silent and dark except for the nightlight Mike had turned on beside Emily's bed in case she woke up thinking about the movie. But even the light wasn't bothering Mia. There was no reason why she should still be awake.

She punched her mattress and groaned. Sleeping with her head under the blankets wasn't working. She tried the other side. Still nothing. She tried sleeping on her back, then her stomach, then tried with her feet on the pillow.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

She sat up in bed and looked over her shoulder at Emily who was fast asleep, and had been since before she was home. Now Mia was starting to worry. The better Emily slept, the more energy she had to spend during the day. That was not only worrisome for the sleep-deprived roommate, but also very dangerous for both Mia and Emily. One wrong move and it would be guaranteed Mia would be behind bars for a crime… at best.

She wished the mess of peas was still in her room. At least this way she would have something to do and something to look forward to for when the sun rose and Emily woke up showered in her favourite green legumes.

Knowing there was nothing she could do, Mia grunted and grabbed her pillow. She pressed it into the bed while bearing a huge grin on her face. Suddenly, there was a knock on her door and it opened.

"What are you doing?" she heard Kevin's chuckle and turned to him.

"I, uh…" she lifted the pillow from her bed and hugged it to her chest, "Emily's asleep and I can't… and I get pretty dangerous when I don't sleep."

"So, you're pretending to suffocate our yellow Ranger because you can't get a good night's sleep?" Kevin smirked, "You know, technically we're already at our second yellow, and I doubt there's a third waiting," He closed the door as he walked into the room and took a seat on Mia's bed. She crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Is that bad of me to wish she was suffocating right now?"

Kevin brushed her hair away from her face, "You're just tired."

Mia nodded her head. His reasoning was as good as any. She leaned back into her bed before it occurred to her. Kevin was also awake.

"So what's keeping you up?" she asked him, "Is the nasal orchestra performing tonight?"

"He's quiet," Kevin chuckled. He laid next to Mia, "I just couldn't sleep. Not really sure why, then I realised there was something bothering me."

"Tell me about it," Mia said, "Maybe I can help. Or, maybe, we'll both be stuck and it'll bother me and I'll have a reason for not being able to sleep."

"We haven't gone on a second date yet," Kevin smirked. Mia nodded her head as it occurred to her. She could understand why it would bother Kevin, it bothered her as well, but as Rangers they didn't have a lot of time on their hands. Dates weren't exactly a luxury they could afford at this moment.

"We've been pretty busy since out first," Mia told Kevin, though she knew there would be no good excuse. She wanted to spend alone time with him. She wanted it very much, "I mean, while we were on a date the others blew up, then Emily fell down a ravine, Jayden disappeared and you and Mike were injured. And as fun at it would have been to abandon all our friends when they needed us, neither of us can do it."

"I know," Kevin nodded, "it just bugs me but… we have a little time now."

"What? It's the middle of the night!"

"Yeah, and your roommate's asleep, mine's in another room and only wakes up to the smell of bacon and someone screaming in his ear. We're as alone as we're ever going to be, we might as well make the most of it."

"And what exactly are we going to do on this date?" Mia asked, "If Mentor or Jayden hears us moving around out there, they're going to check up on us and send us back to bed."

"Who says we have to go out there?" Kevin smirked. Mia pointed over to the other bed.

"The fact that my roommate is right there."

"And if she wakes up you'll only be watching a movie and I'll be nowhere in sight," Kevin kissed Mia on the cheek before he got up and rushed to the common room. He grabbed the portable DVD player, the one the Rangers used when someone wanted to watch a movie but the TV was already taken. He snuck it back into Mia and Emily's bedroom and crawled into bed next to Mia. He placed the player on his lap as Mia wrapped herself in his arms.

"There's a stash of DVD's under my bed," she whispered. "I took some from home when I came here. I watch them sometimes."

Kevin could just barely reach under the bed. He collected as many DVDs as he could and pulled them up. He sighed.

"Romantic comedies?"

"What exactly did you expect?" Mia laughed.

"Exactly this," Kevin smiled, "but a man could hope that his girlfriend loves action-movies, you know."

"Keep hoping," Mia grabbed one of the DVDs and placed it in the player, knowing the movie choice wasn't going to bother Kevin at all. He had already told her that all movies in this genre were the same to him.

As the movie started, Mia and Kevin realised they forgot to turn the volume down to something a lot more suitable for the middle of the night and the music from the DVD menu started blaring loudly through the speakers. Kevin fumbled to try and lower the volume before it woke Emily up and he was caught, while Mia couldn't keep herself from laughing. Her laughter on top of the loud volume and Kevin's cursing was enough to shake sleeping Emily awake.

"Hide!" Mia said to Kevin as she forced him under the blankets and quickly turned the volume down while Emily lifted her head from the pillow. She looked at her older sister.

"What was that?"

"Sorry, Emy," Mia whispered apologetically, "I couldn't sleep and thought I would watch a movie. I forgot the volume was at full blast."

"What are you watching?" Emily asked and Mia was afraid this question would lead Emily to wanting to watch the DVD with her.

"Uh, nothing interesting, really. Just something to put me to sleep. Just go back to bed."

"It's just… I thought I heard Kevin…"

"Must have been your dream," Mia said, "It's late, Emy, just go back to sleep before you too get bit by the insomnia bug."

"Goodnight," Emily placed her head back on her pillow and within seconds was back asleep. Mia laughed and lifted the blankets up from Kevin's head.

"That was close," she said to her boyfriend as he sat up. He nodded his head.

"What do you think she would have done if she found out?"

"Assumed the extreme," Mia shrugged, "you know there aren't many excuses for a boyfriend and girlfriend being caught together in bed, right?"

"It's just a movie!" Kevin frowned. "The DVD player is right there! What can she possibly think we're doing?"

"Nothing," Mia laughed. She rested her head on Kevin's chest and hit the play button for the DVD, "Let's just watch the movie."

"Yes, rom-coms, the instant cure to my insomnia. It's never failed me before."

"You really hate these movies, don't you?" Mia chuckled and Kevin nodded his head. She smiled at him, though and gave him a kiss, "But you're still watching it with me. That makes you amazing and that's why I love you."

Kevin couldn't help but grin as he looked down at Mia. She averted her gaze to the movie the moment she heard the words coming out of her mouth. He squeezed her lovingly and stroked her hair before kissing the top of her head.

"I love you too."


	36. Zombie

While Kevin and Mia were enjoying their movie, Emily was having a hard time in her sleep. After having been awoken by the loud music from the DVD player, Emily realised she was alone in her bed and Mike was in the other room. That was too far away as far as she was concerned, especially once her dreams began to wander.

It was the perfect day in her dreams. She was back at home, her real home, with her sister, her parents, and her friends were there with her. She was showing them around the farm. The barn she used to play in with her sister, the fields where she used to run around in until she would be too tired to walk all the way back home. Usually, when she tired herself out like that, Serena would carry her back to the patio of the house and set her on the swinging bench. While Emily would catch her breath, Serena would go inside and bring out a special frozen treat to help cool Emily down.

She relieved those memories as she told her friends all about her childhood and they listened with interest. But her dream changed when she brought them inside the house to meet her sister. She led them to Serena's room, which unfortunately had turned into more of a hospital room than a bedroom over the years. She saw Serena was resting under the blankets and motioned for her friends to wait by the door while she tried to awaken her sister.

She approached the bed and pulled down the blankets. At that moment, Serena jumped from the bed and lunged at Emily. The yellow Ranger screamed as she hit the floor and she felt the weight of her sister on top of her. When she looked up, she saw Serena was no longer her sister. Her flesh was peeling away from her body, her eyes were rolled up, there was blood dripping from nearly every part of her face and body.

"Z…Z…Zom…" the word couldn't come out of Emily's mouth as she stared up at her Zombie sister. She did, however, find the strength to push Serena off and run over to her friends. She threw herself into Mike's arms. She felt his grip tighten around her, but not in the usual way. When she looked up she realised why.

"ZOMBIE!" she screamed just as Mike tried to bite her.

-Samurai-

Emily jolted out of her dream and threw herself off the bed in the process. She spread her arms out in the fall, hitting the lamp on her side table before she and the lamp landed with a thud. The only death was the light bulb, which shattered into pieces as soon as it hit the ground.

"Emily!" Mia cried after witnessing her roommate's sudden fall. Both she and Kevin pushed the DVD player aside and jumped out of bed to help their youngest friend. The bedroom door swung open as Mike, Jayden and Mentor rushed in.

"We heard a crash!"

"Everything's fine," Kevin assured his friends and Mentor as he started picking up the broken pieces of the lightbulb and set the lamp back on the table. Meanwhile, Mia was sitting with Emily, trying to get the yellow Ranger to calm down and open her eyes.

"What happened?" Mentor asked as he surveyed the room. Emily's side was a mess, and Mia's bed looked as if someone had spent hours jumping on it. Not to mention the portable DVD player that was sitting dangerously close to the side of the bed and looked about ready to fall.

Mike didn't bother himself with the room as he hurried over to Emily and tried to help Mia calm her down. As the pink and green Ranger did this, and Mentor helped with the mess, Jayden furrowed his brow and watched Kevin. He didn't remember seeing the blue Ranger in the hallway on the way over, and everyone knew the girls well enough to know that it was unlikely Mia was the cause of the crash, which only led Jayden to believe that Mike would have run the fastest to the girls' bedroom, not Kevin.

"When did you…?"

"She'll need a new bulb," Kevin interrupted his leader before the question could be asked. Jayden kept his eye on Kevin for a moment before he left the room in search of a new lightbulb for Emily's lamp.

Kevin let out a sigh before turning to face Mia and the two exchanged a look of relief. They were going to be asked some questions once everything calmed down, and while they had nothing to hide it was still going to be awkward.

Mentor finished with the mess and walked over to Emily. He helped her to her feet and led her to the door.

"Maybe some hot chocolate and a talk will help you," he suggested.

The Rangers all gathered in the common room and took their seats. Mike decided though that he would sit with Emily and pulled her onto his lap. She nestled into his arms and buried herself away. She wouldn't even come out when Mentor started handing the Rangers their hot chocolates.

"She won't drink it without mini-marshmallows," Mike informed his mentor, "The rainbow kind with extra yellow… I bought some last time Kevin and I went grocery shopping."

Mentor nodded and went to retrieve the rainbow marshmallows.

"So…" Kevin started awkwardly, unsure of how to get a conversation started in this type of situation. Like most of the other Rangers he had never had a little sibling and the only time he had to deal with the after-nightmare-midnight-talk was when he was the young boy who had the nightmare. "What… uh…"

"Was it zombies?" Mia asked while glaring at Mike, "I knew seeing a zombie movie was a bad idea."

"Hey, she was perfectly fine when I put her to bed," Mike frowned but quickly glanced down at Emily, "Unless…"

He trailed off, hoping Emily would provide him with an answer but she didn't. She didn't pull her head out or even move a muscle. She was frozen stiff. Mike kissed her sympathetically on top of her head and rubbed circles on her back.

Mentor returned with the bag of rainbow mini-marshmallows.

Mia grabbed the bag and tried to rip it open so she could fill up Emily's drink with mini-marshmallows. The bag was stubborn though and didn't open until Mia let her guard down. At that point, it popped open and mini-marshmallows flew in every direction. Thankfully, many of them landed in Emily's mug, and most of the ones that did were yellow.

"Well… that didn't go as planned," Mia chuckled while Kevin picked a marshmallow from her hair and ate it.

"These are good!"

"You got one in my drink," Jayden frowned as he glared at the floating marshmallow in his drink.

"Do you want more?" Mia asked as she collected the scattered marshmallows from her lap, her seat, and even in her shirt. She then tossed her handful at Jayden's face, "Here, it's on me."

"You guys are wasting perfectly good marshmallow," Kevin complained. He was collecting as many as he could so he could eat them. He also dumped a few in his hot-chocolate before taking a sip. He discovered the mushy candy only added to the goodness of the hot-chocolate. His eyes widened in delight.

"You know, it's not often I fill my drinks or cover anything in candy, but when it's good… it's good!"

"You've never put marshmallows in your drink?" Mia asked him. Everyone had tried it at least once! Of course, knowing Kevin's crazy Samurai/swimmer diet, she wasn't all that surprised by the revelation.

Jayden chuckled and shook his head before he turned to Emily, "You might want to start drinking yours, Em, before Kevin really loses it and steals your hot-chocolate."

"I wouldn't…" Kevin took another sip, "Okay… I might."

Mike reached over and grabbed Emily's mug from the table. He held it close to her face, hoping that would pull her out of her shell. Emily only shook her head and buried herself deeper. Mike was starting to wonder if there was a hole or something in his chest. She seemed to be getting smaller, and there was only so much room on his lap.

"Em…"

He sighed and handed her mug to Jayden, certain it would be safe and warm with the fire Samurai. He wrapped her tightly in his arms.

"It was Zombies, wasn't it?" he asked her and the room fell silent as everyone waited for a reply. They heard a faint muffle coming from Mike's chest, and he leaned in closer to where he thought her mouth was and asked her to repeat what she had just said.

Another muffle was heard and Mike was the only one who understood. He whispered something back to her before kissing her cheek. After that, Emily uncurled herself slightly and looked at her friends. At this point Jayden offered her her mug back. Emily accepted it gratefully and took a sip from it.

"So it was a nightmare, right?" Kevin asked and Emily nodded her head.

"Yeah, it was."

"What was it about?" Mia asked carefully. Emily quickly looked at Mike who nodded. She bit her lip as she answered.

"It's a little silly, really."

"Em, if it's got you scared it's not silly," Mia assured her, "Silly was Mike taking you to a horror movie."

"Probably not my smartest move," Mike admitted with a chuckle. He nudged Emily, "C'mon, tell them. For the most part, it's pretty funny."

"Uh… well…" Emily picked a mini-marshmallow from her hot-chocolate, "You guys were zombies and tried to eat me."

"We tried to eat you?" Kevin laughed, "Yeah, because if we had to eat anyone it would be you."

"Hey, she is the sweetest," Mike smirked and kissed her neck to prove it. Emily giggled and squirmed when he also started to tickle her. Jayden grabbed the hot-chocolate from her hand before she spilt the warm drink all over herself.

"Okay, okay, that's enough of the cute stuff," Kevin said as he looked away, trying not to throw up his hot-chocolate and mini-marshmallows. Mike ceased with the kisses and tickles.

"So, I guess we were successful zombies," he grinned, "I mean, we were scary, right?"

"Very scary," Emily nodded.

"But, you know zombies aren't real, right?" Mia asked her little sister. "I mean, monsters, demons… we fight those… those are real, but zombies? No way!"

"I know," Emily smiled, "And anyways, now that I think about it, if zombies were real, we could stop them anyways, right?"

"Definitely," Jayden nodded, "If we can handle a Nighlok, we can surely stop a zombie."

"Good."

-Samurai-

Once the hot-chocolates were done and the mini-marshmallows were cleaned (Kevin and Emily had finished them all off) the Rangers were once again tired enough to go back to sleep.

After getting Emily back to bed, Mike walked to his room and crawled into bed. But before his head hit the pillow he glanced at Kevin.

"So, uh, I noticed you weren't in bed when I woke up," Mike smirked, "And you were in Em and Mia's room pretty quickly…"

"I thought something happened to Mia," Kevin shrugged as he lied, "I… I mean, I was worried and…"

"Yeah, because we all know how often Mia falls out of bed or knocks stuff over… oh wait, sorry, I'm mistaking Mia for Emily…" Mike shook his head, "Look, whatever dude, I get a feeling I don't want to know."

"We weren't doing anything," Kevin frowned. "I mean… you know... I was up already… I couldn't sleep."

"Yeah… goodnight, lover-boy."

Over in the girl's room, Mia twisted the new bulb into Emily's lamp and was blinded when she accidentally turned on the light. Emily chuckled as Mia rubbed her eyes.

"Wow, first the marshmallows, now the lamp. I think you're contagious."

"Mia, would you mind leaving the lights turned on?" Emily asked. "I know zombies aren't real but…"

"Sure thing, Emy," Mia nodded. She put the lamp down and started back to her bed but was stopped when Emily grabbed her hand.

"Even sick people don't turn into zombie-like monsters, right?"

"Not that I know," Mia shook her head, "Why?"

"Um… well…" Emily shrugged her shoulders and sat back down in her bed. She pulled the blankets over her legs, "Never mind. It's a stupid question. Zombies aren't real."

Mia sighed before glancing over at the DVD player which was still on her bed. She turned back to Emily for a moment before grabbing the DVD player and carrying it over to Emily's bed. She crawled in beside her friend.

"How about we get your mind off the zombies?" she hit play and the movie started again from the start.

"The Hero's Bride!" Emily smiled. "I love this movie!"


	37. Mia and Mike Do Groceries

"We don't need that, Michael! Put it down!"

"But… it's yummy."

"Put it down!"

Mike tossed the candy bag back onto the shelf and grabbed the grocery cart. He pushed it around and followed Mia through the aisles.

"This is why I like shopping with Kevin better. He just gets annoyed and gives up. You're just… a stubborn mother figure."

Mia smirked as she heard this and tossed several boxes of cereal into the shopping cart. She looked at Mike.

"I thought we had made all of our roles known already," she teased him. "Kevin's the serious one, Jayden's the mysterious leader, Emily's the little sister, I'm the big sister and you're… you."

"Yes, my role is me," Mike nodded his head, "Can't I get a cool title though. Something like… the outsider."

"Ironic, considering the only time you ever venture outside is when Kevin drags you out of bed in your pyjamas for training. The rest of the day you're on that video game crap."

"It's not crap and that's a lie," Mike called as Mia started walking away. He chased after her with the cart, a task made difficult due to the sticky wheel, "I don't spend most of my time playing video games! I hang out with you guys, Emily and…"

"If you're not always playing video games then why did I hear you explaining an attack to Emily using buttons on a controller this morning in training?" Mia laughed. "She seemed to understand it better and, unless I'm wrong, the girl came here without ever having played a video game before…"

Mike nodded his head, "Yeah, yeah, okay, so a lot of the time I spend with you guys and Emily there's a controller in my hand, but at least I don't force her to watch silly movies I know she doesn't like."

Mia paused her grocery shopping and turned to Mike, "Does last night not ring a bell to you? Do you know how long it took me to cover-up my sleep-deprived look this morning because Emily couldn't fall back asleep?"

"Hey, I didn't force her to watch that movie," Mike pointed out with a smirk, "Half the time she had her eyes closed anyways."

"Whatever," Mia chuckled as she turned down the frozen foods aisle. Mike followed her, determined to change the subject to her and Kevin's relationship before he felt like a failure as a boyfriend.

"So… speaking of last night…"

"What?" Mia asked as she collected various bags of frozen vegetables and tossed them into the cart. Mike leaned on the handlebars and grinned.

"It's just… I don't know… something I was thinking about last night after the hot-chocolate. Kevin made it to your room pretty quickly when he heard that crash. I mean, I didn't even see him get out of bed, that's how fast it was."

"He must've thought it was me," Mia shrugged. "No big deal."

"No, you see," Mike shook his head, "that's the answer he gave me last night when I asked him about it and it still doesn't sound right to me."

"What about it doesn't sound right?" Mia asked, "That my boyfriend cares enough about me to check up on me quickly when he hears a thud from me room."

"Nope, that part makes sense, well, the whole running at super speed doesn't, but I don't doubt Kevin would save you if you needed it."

"So then what doesn't make sense?" Mia frowned.

Mike grinned knowingly, "Well, I don't mean to put my own girlfriend down, but the girl's got two left feet in everything she does and you're one of the most graceful people I've ever met… unless you have a bag of mini-marshmallows in your hands, though."

"So?"

"Yes, but when you look at the odds there's about a 99% chance that thud came from Emily, which it did, and we all know those are the statistics. And I don't doubt Kevin's chivalry but let's be honest; it would probably take him a while before he assumes you're the one who crashed into the floor."

Mia turned to Mike and sighed, "What's your point?"

"You're hiding something," Mike smirked, "Something big."

Mia blushed and turned away, "What could I possibly be…"

"You had sex!" Mike cried out a little too loudly, earning both him and Mia strange stares from other shoppers.

Mia chuckled nervously and scratched her ear as she looked around, trying to remove the accusing glares that were burning into her. Through gritted teeth she growled to Mike, "I did not have sex!"

"Then what did happen?" Mike asked. He leaned forward, "Hmm?"

"Nothing."

"What happened?"

"Nothing," Mia tried taking off down the aisle but Mike followed her. He was slowed down slightly by the sticky wheel, but nothing would keep him from pestering the big sister.

"What happened? What happened? What happened?"

"What are you, four?" Mia asked. She stepped into the bakery department and started looking at breads once she realised there was no way to lose Mike. She should have known that from the start. Her purse was in the cart, after all and there was no way she was leaving it with him.

"Four and a half," Mike nodded, "And for my half birthday I want to know if Mia and Kevin had sex."

"We did not…" Mia sighed and her shoulders dropped as she gave in, "Alright, you want to know the truth?"

"Not sure, depends on whether I'm right or not," Mike shrugged.

"Kevin and I had our second date."

Mike plugged his ears instinctively, thinking Mia was going to say something he did not want to hear or think about, "LALALALA!"

"Mike!" Mia swatted his hands away from his head, "It was just a date."

Mike blinked and lowered his arms, "Oh… that's not too nasty."

"I told him I loved him," Mia added and her cheeks turned red. She distracted herself with the loaves of bread and tried to decide on white or whole wheat. She couldn't believe she was talking to Mike about this and was rather embarrassed.

Mike rested on the cart with a serious look on his face, "Oh…"

Thinking there would be more to his sentence, like a joke or a tease, Mia waited for more words to come out of his mouth. But Mike remained silent so she turned to him.

"Oh? Oh what?"

Mike shrugged, "Oh like… oh. Uh… what did… uh… what did he say or do when you, you know… told him you loved him?"

Mia was slightly stunned by Mike's sudden caring attitude towards her. He seemed genuinely concerned about all this and it was nice to know that he was taking this seriously.

"I… why do you care?" she asked him. She knew the outcome had been good. Kevin had told her that he loved her as well, but she knew Mike didn't know and she just assumed when she told him that he wouldn't want to be bothered with the details. However, the look on his face told her otherwise.

"Well, it's just… I know how some guys can be and… you're like my sister and… Kevin's a good guy but even good guys are screw ups. Look at me, for example. I always mean well, but I've screwed up so many times I lost count when I was two and… well… I mean…"

"Relax, Mike," Mia smiled, "everything worked out for us. Kevin didn't screw up and neither did I. We're still a happy couple. A happy couple in love."

"Good."

"But it's good to know you have my back," Mia dumped both the loaves of bread into the shopping cart before approaching Mike and giving him a hug, "It means a lot."

"Well… you know… you're special to Emily and I've always hated it when guys messed with girls and hurt them for stupid reasons… I mean, if it turns out he lied because he thought…"

"I'm positive he didn't lie," Mia smiled. "I know he meant it."

"Well… just in case… if he did, all you have to do is let me and Jayden know and we'll mess him up, okay?" Mike offered before chuckling, "Well, he's a better swordsman than me so Jayden will probably do most of the messing up but… I'll help."

"That's twisted, but thanks," the grocery shopping was done so Mia grabbed her purse from the cart and pointed to the cash registers. Mike knew this was the signal for the end of the shopping and turned the cart around.

He walked side by side with Mia in silence for a moment. Just before they reached the cash he turned to her.

"Hey, we're a bit ahead of schedule. Kevin and Jayden are probably still lost in crazy Samurai training world and Emily's catching up on her sleepless night… want to grab some lunch?"

"Sure," Mia nodded, "Maybe I can give you some pointers on how to be a better boyfriend. You know, from a girl's perspective. I can already tell you lesson number one: leave the video games."

"Dude, I don't need lessons," Mike chuckled, "I only have one rule when it comes to being a good boyfriend and so far it works."

"What's that?" Mia asked with a grin as she paid the cashier for the groceries with the money Mentor gave her and then started to load the bags back into the cart.

Mike shrugged his shoulders and when Mia wasn't looking he grabbed a chocolate bar from the candy counter and had the cashier quickly ring it through. Chocolate Blaster – Emily's favourite.

"Keep her smiling," he told Mia as he hid the chocolate bar in his coat before she saw what he bought. He saw Mia looking over at him with a smile and he grabbed one of the bags to help her load the cart.


	38. Missing Home

Jayden took a seat beside Kevin who was sprawled out on the grass trying to catch his breath after a long training session with the red Ranger. The lesson had been long and the bruises were going to hurt, but both men felt they had learned a lot from each other. In Jayden's opinion that was a success.

The red Ranger handed the blue water bottle to his friend as he sat in the grass. Kevin sat up and took the bottle.

"Thanks."

"So, you never let me ask my question," Jayden said with a smirk. Now that he had Kevin alone he knew there was no way the blue Ranger could get himself out of this less-than-ideal situation.

"What question?" Kevin frowned as he took a sip and tried to think of anytime he would have interrupted a question from Jayden.

"Last night, when Emily had her nightmare," Jayden explained, "You and Mia were first in her room, and you were already cleaning up when Mike, Mentor and I arrived."

"Well, Emily and Mia share a room," Kevin shrugged, hoping he could end the conversation there. He didn't have anything to hide, but what went on between him and Mia was their business and no one else had the right to butt-in.

But Jayden saw it differently.

"I know they do," he said, "Which is why it doesn't bother me that Mia was already with Emily. I want to know why you made it there first."

"I… uh… thought it was Mi…"

"Mia? Falling?" Jayden interrupted the blue with a laugh, "Ha, seriously?"

"You didn't let me finish," Kevin could feel his face turning red, "Uh, well, I thought it was… me little sister that fell and I was worried?"

Jayden blinked. He didn't buy that story for a second, especially when Kevin phrased it as a question rather than a statement.

"Me little sister? Are you a pirate all of a sudden?"

Kevin nodded and covered one eye with his water bottle, "Aye, matey."

Jayden chuckled and shook his head. He gave Kevin a pat on the shoulder as Emily walked out in her pyjamas and joined them, finally rested after her long night. She saw Kevin with the water bottle pressed to his eye and smirked.

"You know, when I get a black eye, I favour peas, not water bottles."

"I…" Kevin pulled the bottle away from his face while Jayden turned to Emily.

"Kevin's turned into a pirate," Jayden teased the blue Ranger.

"It was a joke," Kevin assured the younger girl as he glared at Jayden, "I was just joking because Jayden's trying to poke his nose into mine and Mia's personal life."

"I feel it is my duty," Jayden nodded.

Emily frowned, "Um, why? Kevin and Mia can take care of themselves, right?"

"That's not what I'm worried about, Emily," Jayden said. He looked at both his teammates, "I've told you that Mentor and I are okay with you having relationships as long as they don't interfere with your Samurai duties, right?"

"Yeah," both blue and yellow nodded their heads slowly, unsure of where this was going to go. Jayden turned to look at Kevin.

"Having sex interferes with your Samurai duty."

"Why are you looking at me?" Kevin scooted away from Jayden. He could feel the spotlight shining down on only him and it was making him uncomfortable.

"Because you were already in the girls' bedroom when the accident happened," Jayden answered. His face was now as serious as ever. He continued, "And while I don't want to jump to any conclusions, if you and Mia are going to spend nights together, I feel it's important we have this talk."

"Okay, but we didn't do anything," Kevin shook his head as he looked at Jayden, then Emily, "I swear to you both, nothing happened! Nothing would have!"

"I was right there!" Emily cried.

"That's one of the reasons," Kevin turned back to Jayden, "Look, I get that you're all concerned, but this isn't a talk you need to have with any of us. We may have our faults, but I don't think there's a single person in this house that's stupid enough to risk getting that close to someone while we're still under constant threat! We know about the risks of being too close to anyone. That's why we left our families behind and broke off all contact with them."

"I know," Jayden nodded, "I'm just making sure you know."

"So… does that mean you and Mia didn't…"

"No," Kevin quickly stopped Emily, hoping to set the story straight before rumours spread, "I wouldn't let it get that far. Not after only two dates, not without first knowing what she wanted, and not with someone else in the room… especially you!"

"Good," Emily nodded, "That's a bit of a comfort."

"I just wanted to make sure," Jayden assured the blue Ranger, "It's great that we've all gotten close, and that we're all friends, but we cannot afford to get too wrapped up in any relationship; for any reason. Master Xandred and even Dekker seem to have eyes everywhere. They could easily use someone we love against us in order to get what they want."

"You mean go after our families?" Emily asked with a worried tone. She turned to Kevin. He wrapped his arm around her.

"Our families will be fine," he smiled. "Our parents were the Samurai Rangers before us. I'm sure they can protect themselves."

"Kevin's right," Jayden nodded, "Your parents were great warriors and while they've passed their powers onto you, they still know how to defend themselves. This is just a precaution, to keep them from having to fight another battle, especially when your parents barely made it out of the last one alive."

Kevin squeezed Emily gently when he saw that his and Jayden's reassurances weren't helping her. He couldn't blame her though. He knew how difficult it was to leave home as well try to forgot the existence of a life outside the Shiba house, including friends and family. None of the Rangers had been particularly successful at that. Kevin had seen everyone fall into a slump on several occasions because they missed home. Even he found himself longing for his old life with his parents, his friends and even the pool.

"Hey, they'll be waiting for us when we get back home," Kevin tried to tell the yellow Ranger with confidence but it was difficult. Now he was thinking about his family and how much he missed them. He loved his Ranger team very deeply, but nothing could replace his real family.

Emily shrugged his arm off her shoulder, "I'm not sure…"

She pushed herself to her feet and walked back into the Shiba house. Jayden waited for her to be on the other side of the door before he swatted Kevin's shoulder.

"You had to phrase it that way."

"Sorry, I guess that was my bad," Kevin nodded his head slowly. Jayden frowned. Now there was something bothering his blue Ranger. He sighed.

"I'm sorry I had to address the sex thing, but…"

"It's not that," Kevin shook his head and got to his feet, "You just… got us thinking, I guess."

"What?" Jayden frowned. Now he was completely clueless.

Kevin stood up, "Look, don't worry about it. I mean, it's a little easier for you. You know what happened to your parents and you get to see Mentor every day. Sometimes… I guess… it's just not as easy letting go. If you see Emily tell her I said sorry. I think I'm going to hang in my room for a few hours."

"I… okay," Jayden breathed as Kevin walked back into the house. He watched as the blue Ranger crossed paths with the pink and barely acknowledged his girlfriend was home from doing the groceries.

Curious, Mia walked across the garden to Jayden, "What did you do?"

"Nothing, I… we just had a talk."

"Are you sure?" Mia sat in the grass across from Jayden, "He looks upset and he was fine when I left."

"I just talked to him about something… just… Samurai business and somehow we got onto the topic of… family?"

"What Samurai business?" Mia asked. She knew she had to figure out what was bothering Kevin before she went to talk to him about it. There was no point trying to dig for the answer. Not after the look he gave her. He didn't say hello to her, didn't give her a kiss; he barely even looked at her. It couldn't have been something she had done. She had been gone most of the day to gather groceries with Mike and then went to lunch.

"Just… we all just talked about the dangers of getting to close to another person and that led to family and…"

"Why were you talking about getting close to another person?" Mia frowned, "What brought that up? Did Emily ask you the sick-people zombie question too?"

"What? No… I saw Kevin in your room last night and…"

"Nothing happened!"

"I know," Jayden nodded and chuckled slightly, "He told me. He's a good guy, Mia. But I needed to remind him, and Emily, of the dangers of getting too close to someone. How Master Xandred and Dekker could use that against us. Emily brought up her family and they both just… did that."

"Oh…" Mia lowered her head and focused her gaze on the grass. She started pulling at it mindlessly, and Jayden knew her thoughts were straying.

"Now you're doing it too," Jayden breathed. He bit his lip and looked at the door, where the other two Rangers had disappeared. He knew it had been a long time now since the Rangers had seen or heard from their friends and families. He and Mentor Ji had always known that was going to be one of the biggest sacrifices the Samurai were ever going to make. And even though they all knew they would see home one day, no one knew when that would be or if they would even live to the end.

While Jayden knew they had all sworn to break off all their relationships and bonds from before starting their lives as Samurai Rangers, he knew they were also only human. They did have lives, pasts and friendships. They had people they loved and people who loved them. It wasn't easy to be separated for so long.

He gave Mia a pat on the shoulder before he got up, "I'll fix this. For all of you. I promise."

-Samurai-

Mike knocked on the bedroom door for the umpteenth time since he had come home. For some reason Emily wasn't letting him in.

"C'mon, Em. I got you your favourite! Chocolate Blaster! Mia didn't let me buy any candy, but I snuck it past her. Open up!"

"Go away!"

Mike groaned and rested his head against the door, "Can I at least come in? You seem upset. Is it still that nightmare? C'mon, Em, you know Zombies aren't real. No one, and I mean no one is ever going to turn into a zombie. Not me, not Mia, not Kevin, Jayden, Mentor or your sister! Please just…"

"Go away!"

"I'm sorry I took you to the movie," Mike was going to try anything at this point to get her to show herself. He looked down the hall, hoping Mia would turn up and she could let him inside the room. He could have simply opened the door and walked in, but he wasn't about to disrespect either of the girls by doing so.

"Go away!"

"Em…"

He heard her footsteps coming to the door backed away to give her some room to step out. But when the door opened he saw Emily glaring at him.

"I don't want to do this anymore."

Mike frowned, "Uh… I can try again later…"

"Not the knocking," Emily said, "I don't want to do this," she motioned to the space between her and Mike, "I don't want us."

"What?" the chocolate bar dropped from Mike's hand, "Emily… what… why?"

"Just go away."

"Not until…"

"Go away!" Emily screamed before she slammed the door in his face. He groaned loudly and had to contain his rage until he reached the common room. He kicked his stool and fell to the ground.

"Stupid movie…"

-Samurai-

Kevin knew he would find Mia outside. He knew she didn't like to spend her days inside the house and he had seen her head into the garden after blowing her off. After a few minutes in his room he realised that no matter how hurt and upset he was because he missed his family it wasn't right to act that way towards Mia. Not when she was the only person he had left who could really help him.

He found her sitting in the grass and sat beside her. He wrapped his arms around her. He noticed that, like himself, she looked upset.

"You talked to Jayden too?" he asked. Mia nodded her head.

"You miss your family?"

"It's been months," Kevin sighed. "I can barely remember what my father sounds like… it's hard. I guess we're all just at that point where even a mention can… well... reduce us to crying Samurai."

"I think I miss my grandmother the most," Mia said, "You might laugh, but she and I used to bake together. Homemade cookies were her specialty… well… you know."

"Hey, cookies are cookies. I would try them," Kevin smiled. "Right now I would eat anything homemade. Mentor's a good cook, but there's just something about the food cooked by someone you love that just makes it taste so much better."

"Maybe that's why no one in my family ever realised we couldn't cook," Mia chuckled, "I mean, we always had so much fun when we cooked or baked. I think we would spend more time laughing than the food did cooking."

"That's a lot of time considering most of what you cook is overcooked," Kevin smirked. Mia nodded her head at his comment.

"My family had their troubles. What family doesn't? But whenever we would cook together… that would just… disappear. I remember getting into a huge fight with my grandmother over something so stupid. But then we started baking and everything just… worked itself out."

"My family was a bit like that," Kevin nodded his head, "We didn't always get along. My dad was always pushing me to do better and be the best. I wanted to be an Olympic swimmer, so I guess I needed that encouragement, but sometimes I just couldn't do what he asked and I would get frustrated. I would always do my best but when it wasn't good enough he would tell me. It hurt. It always did. But at the end of the day, no matter what happened between me and my dad, he would always get changed into his swimsuit and join me in the water for a little fun. It didn't matter how angry I was at him, or how much he yelled at me, he would always jump in."

"It must have been nice," Mia commented and a smile appeared on Kevin's face.

"It was," he looked at her, "Look, about blowing you off…"

"Don't worry about it," Mia smiled and leaned into Kevin, "You were upset. I get it. I would have done the same."

"I miss my family," Kevin sighed, "But, I can see you. I don't want to lose that."

"I know," Mia kissed his cheek, "We'll get through this. We're allowed to miss them. We're allowed to get upset. But we're staying away because we want them to be safe. And we will go home."

"Until then," Kevin rested his head on Mia's shoulder and pulled her in closer so she was pressed up against him, "I have you."


	39. Letters

Jayden knocked gently on Mentor's door and waited for the call before he stepped inside. It was rare that someone came to visit the mentor in his room. Normally if they needed him they would knock on the door and call for him to go to the common room before he even got a chance to reply. When they stayed and waited for him, he knew they needed a chat.

Jayden walked in and closed the door. He didn't dare go any further. Mentor's room wasn't like the other's where he could take a seat on the bed and address the problem at hand. So he stood and looked at his mentor.

"We need to talk."

"Of course," Mentor gestured to the bed, giving the young Samurai permission to take a seat as he slowly spun in his desk chair. Jayden did as he was told and sat down. He looked at Mentor.

"It's about the Rangers."

"Go on."

"They miss home," Jayden said. He looked his mentor straight in the eye. This wasn't going to be an easy conversation to have.

"Of course they do; as did the Samurai before them and the ones before them."

"I just," Jayden played with his hands as he turned to the door, "I can't help but feel for them, Mentor. Mike and Emily are just kids and Kevin and Mia don't seem to be holding up very well, either. This has got to be hard for them."

"We always knew it would be," all Mentor could do was nod.

"They… well Kevin brought up a good point," Jayden said, "I don't know what they're going through. I can't relate to them. I can't help them. This is my real home. This is where I grew up. You are my family. They're alone. They can't fight alone."

"I understand that. But people come together in times of suffering."

"So a team that suffers together stays together?" Jayden said with a frown. He didn't want to lead his team this way. "No, Mentor. With one little talk I nearly reduced three of my friends to tears. This is only going to get worse as time goes on. You and I both know things are getting harder."

"This isn't my first time helping a team, Jayden," Mentor nodded. "I know how much the Rangers miss home. Their parents were the same way. They made it through."

"To be fair, Mentor, their parents had stronger motives for breaking contact with their families. We were all alive. Most of us were children when our parents fought: Mia, Kevin, Serena and I. Mike and Emily must have only been infants at most!"

"Your point?"

"We were defenceless. We were innocent. If Master Xandred found out we were the children of the Samurai Rangers he would have killed us all without a second thought. We don't have that worry. We don't have children waiting for us at home."

"But there are still families…"

"But they've been trained to fight!" Jayden slammed his fist into the bed before he jumped to his feet, "Mentor, this separation isn't only hurting the Rangers; it's hurting their families as well! They have no idea if their children are still alive! Don't you think at this point a little communication would go a long way? Don't you think we owe it to the Rangers to remind them of why they need to fight? Why they need to be strong?"

"Do you really believe contact would help the team?" Mentor asked. "Do you realise the burden you'll bear if you make this happen. If Master Xandred or any of our enemies find out and harm the Rangers' families will you be able to live with yourself knowing you caused this."

"Surely Master Xandred already knows every Ranger has a family," Jayden nodded.

"But are you willing to risk him finding out who their families are? This isn't a decision that can be made lightly, Jayden. The Rangers knew what to expect when…"

"They knew what to expect," Jayden nodded as he walked to the door, "But that doesn't mean they chose this life. I think it's time they got a little thank you. If you don't help me, I'm doing it alone."

Jayden slammed the door as he left but Mentor smirked and went back to his work. Jayden was a strong leader. He had known that since the day he first met the young boy back when his father was Red Ranger.

-Samurai-

"So, Mentor doesn't have a pool, but I figured we could bring home here by making cookies," Mia grinned as she led Kevin into the kitchen. All the tools she and Kevin needed to bake cookies were already spread out, as well as all the ingredients. She turned to him, "I, uh, I know this is my family thing and it probably won't remind you of your home but Mentor doesn't have a pool and I doubt using the bathtub is a serious option…"

Kevin silenced her with a kiss, "I get it," he said when they broke apart; "I would love to bake cookies with you."

Mia smiled as she took his hand and pulled him to the counter, "Good. I promise we'll go find a public pool or something on our next day off."

"Sounds great," Kevin smiled. He saw the cookbook sitting on the edge of the counter and he reached for it. He opened it up and read over the instructions with Mia while explaining to her what needed to be done and how it needed to be done so the cookies turned out edible.

For hours laughter filled the house and more dough ended up on Mia and Kevin then on the baking sheet but the two Rangers still managed to make enough cookies for the entire house and then some. Just as Mia slid the cookies into the oven to bake, Kevin finally noticed something strange about the house.

Mia closed the oven door and pulled off her apron before she turned to Kevin.

"What are you…?"

"Shh," Kevin hushed her, "Do you hear that?"

Mia listened for a moment before she shook her head, "No, I don't."

"Exactly," Kevin looked at her, "Why are we making the most noise? Shouldn't Mike be playing a video game or Emily be… Emilying?"

Mia leaned against the counter, "I guess you're right. It is quiet. Too quiet."

"And where's Jayden?" Kevin asked. "Why have we been the only ones in the kitchen for hours?"

Mia shrugged her shoulders, "Jayden's his own guy. I wouldn't worry about him."

"I guess."

"I take Emy, you take Mike?"

"Why do I always have to take care of Mike?" Kevin groaned. "He's not exactly open and friendly. Why do you get the easy job?"

Mia smirked and kissed Kevin before walking away.

Kevin groaned and ran his hand through his hair, "Oh, yeah… that's why."

He turned back to the oven just in time to see Mentor Ji stepping into the kitchen. He smiled.

"When the timer beeps, help yourself to the cookies," he said, "Just be sure they cool off a bit first! I've got to talk to Mike."

-Samurai-

Mia chuckled as she walked into her bedroom and found Emily sitting on her bed.

"I don't like it when you sit there. Whenever you do there's a problem and…"

"I don't want to talk."

"Oh," Mia frowned. Emily didn't want to talk, but that wasn't going to stop her. She needed to help her friends. It was who she was. She had grown up a nurturer. No matter what it took, she was going to get through.

She sat beside Emily, "Last time you sat here you were scared. Can I assume it's the same thing this time? Is it the…"

"It's not the movie," Emily growled, wishing her friends would stop bringing it up. Yes, the movie had terrified her. Yes, the movie was still scaring her. Yes, she had a nightmare because of the movie, but not everything in her life was centered around that movie.

"Is it what Jayden said?" Mia asked. "Do you miss your family? Do you miss your sister?"

There was no answer. Mia furrowed her brow but she knew that in situations like this no answer was the same as yes.

"I miss my family," she said, "But it's amazing how well we can help each other. If you want to talk…"

"No."

"I..."

"No."

"Emy…"

"No!"

Emily spun around and shoved Mia off the bed. The pink Ranger landed with a thump on the floor and looked up in horror at her little sister. This had never happened. Emily had never been aggressive with her friends and Mia had never made things worst! It didn't make sense.

Without an apology, Emily turned her back to Mia. Both girls remained still and silent before Mia got to her feet and walked out.

-Samurai-

After a long talk with Mike the pieces fell into place for Kevin. He learned that the green and yellow Rangers were no more and Mike had no idea why. Nor did Kevin for that matter. All he could do to help his best friend was listen as the green Ranger ranted in rage and frustration over how hurt and helpless he felt. Before he left Mike on his own, though, he talked about his first break up and the things he did to deal hoping it would help Mike.

He found Mia sitting outside. By now the sun had set and the temperature cooled. He pulled off his sweater and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" he asked her when she barely responded to his touch. "How did the talk with Emily go?"

"There was no talk," Mia shrugged.

"Mike and I talked," Kevin sat down beside her, "We talked a lot. He talked a lot, actually. I just listened."

"Did you figure out why he was quiet?"

"Yeah," Kevin nodded, "I was wrong."

"What did you…?"

"Emily broke his heart. I thought it would be the other way around."

"Oh," Mia nodded before the words really sank in. Suddenly she turned to Kevin, "Oh? What does that mean? What happened today?"

"Emily just broke it off," Kevin shrugged, "I don't really get it either. She must have a good reason or something. She was happy with him yesterday and last night but something changed her mind. Apparently Mike saw her when she was upset and he tried to talk to her. He even brought her a chocolate bar but she wouldn't tell him anything. She just broke it off and told him to go away. Now he's hurting to."

"It's like the plague," Mia sighed, "This hurting thing, I mean. It hits us all. We miss home, something's bothering Emy and Mike's broken hearted."

"Who knew coming here would make things complicated?" Kevin wrapped his arm around Mia. "I bet you we're not going to go a week without drama."

"It makes you really miss home, doesn't it?" Mia nodded as she rested her head on Kevin's shoulder. "Things were easier when it was just… home. The only people we had to worry about were ourselves. Now we've got a team and it's just too different."

"I know."

-Samurai-

When Jayden returned home it was the middle of the night. All the lights in the houses were turned off and he planned on keeping them that way so he wouldn't disturb his friends and Mentor.

Quietly he placed his bag on the ground and removed his hoodie. He hung his sweater on the coat rack before kneeling down and slowly unzipping his bag. He pulled out many weapons, which he had packed just in case he needed them on his trip. He also had to pull out his Samuraizer before he reached the very bottom of the bag where four letters sat. He smiled to himself as he felt the envelopes with his fingertips and he pulled them out.

He tip-toed to the common room and placed the four letters on his friends' seats knowing they would easily be seen when the Rangers walked in. Once he finished he headed to his room and quickly changed into his pyjamas. He messed up the blankets on his bed to make it look like it had been slept in and played around with his hair until it looked like bed-head.

Finally, he grabbed his Samuraizer and created his double. The second Jayden walked into the common and stood in the middle of the room before letting out a loud scream. The moment he stopped screaming was when he disappeared and seconds later the Rangers, including Jayden, and Mentor, rushed in.

"What the hell?" Mike rubbed his eyes, "Dudes, it's three o'clock!"

"Was that the Gap Sensor?" Kevin turned to Jayden. The red Ranger shook his head.

"It didn't sound like it."

"It sounded like you screaming," Emily frowned. She clearly wasn't happy about being woken up. "If this is a joke."

"I didn't do it," Jayden shook his head but he still received a glare from the very unhappy yellow Ranger. He was only saved when Mia gasped. Everyone turned to her and noted the tears that quickly welled up in her eyes. Kevin placed his hand on the small of her back.

"Mia, it's okay. I'm sure you'll fall back asleep…"

"No," Mia walked over to her chair and picked up the envelope where on the front it was written _Grandma_. She looked at it wide-eyed in disbelief as she lowered herself onto her stool.

"This is my grandmother's handwriting," Mia whispered as her fingers gently skimmed the front of the envelope, "It's… how did it… why is it…?"

"I… I have one to," Mike frowned as he looked at his stool and saw an envelope where on the front it was written_ Mom._ He didn't need to question how it got there or why it was there. If it was a message from his mother he wanted to read it. He ripped it open at the same time as Mia opened hers and they both pulled out long letters addressed to them.

Hoping there would be a letter for him, Kevin looked at his stool. He grinned and bounced like a little boy at Christmas when he saw his father had written to him. It didn't take him long before he too pulled out his letter and began reading it.

Emily looked at her stool with a mixture of fear and excitement. She knew that the letters her friends received were from family members whom they were closest to and if whoever had gotten these letters knew her even a little bit they would have known that the person she was closest to was Serena. But her letter had been placed upside down and she couldn't see who had written to her.

Jayden mentally kicked himself when he saw this. The room had been dark when he put the letters down and he must have placed Emily's upside down. But he looked at her with a smile.

"Aren't you going to read it?"

"What if it's…?"

Jayden picked up her letter and handed it to her upside down, "We're here for you either way, kid."

Emily nodded and turned the card.

_Serena._


	40. After the Letters

The common room was almost completely flooded with silence as the Rangers read the mysterious letters they had received from their beloved family members. The only noise that kept the room from being completely hushed was the soft sobs and light chuckles that escaped the reading Rangers. In a sign of respect, Jayden and Mentor sat almost completely still. They didn't say a word to the Rangers or to each other. They barely even exchanged looks with each other.

Having been the first to read her letter, Mia was much further in her reading and finished first. She wiped away the tears from her eyes and dried the ones on her cheek with the sleeve of her shirt before she looked at Jayden and Mentor.

"My grandmother wishes us all strength," she said to them. "She remembers how hard this was for her years ago."

Jayden nodded. He wasn't sure how to respond to that. While the Rangers got the chance to read a letter from home, he wasn't about to become a messenger. It would be too dangerous. He had already taken a huge risk just by meeting the families. He knew that whatever he said to Mia's grandmother would never be heard by the elderly woman. He did, however, appreciate the good wishes.

He smiled when he saw Mia hugging the letter close to her chest. It was easy to see that more tears were threatening to fall from her eyes, but Mia was holding them back. She did until Kevin reached out and pulled her in close. Mia sat on his lap and buried her head between his shoulder and neck as she let the tears fall. With one arm, Kevin rubbed her back soothingly while he finished reading his letter.

Over on the other side of the room, Mike had walked away from his stool and sat on the floor against the wall to read his letter from his mother. He wasn't crying. In fact, Jayden couldn't remember Mike ever really crying, but it was obvious the letter was stirring some emotions for Mike. Finally he finished reading and put the letter on the ground before grabbing his head in his hands.

"Are you okay, Mike?" Jayden asked. Mike looked up and nodded.

"Yeah, dude. I'm fine. It's just hard."

"How's your family?"

"Same old, same old. They said they missed me. Mom hopes she can meet all of you once this is done, too."

"We'll work something out," Jayden assured the green Ranger.

"Same old dad," Kevin shook his head with a laugh before returning the letter into the envelope. He placed it on the table before wrapping both arms around Mia. He looked at the rest of the room, "He's telling me to do my best and strive to reach the top."

"So be yourself?" Mike said jokingly. Kevin chuckled and nodded his head.

"Yeah, basically, but it's a lot more motivating hearing it coming from him."

"You can read that letter anytime, Kevin," Jayden nodded, "Maybe that little extra push will help you beat even me. Not to brag or anything."

"Yeah, sure," Kevin smiled. He turned to Emily, "Em, how's your sister doing?"

"She's fine," Emily nodded.

"Fine?"

"Good, whatever," the yellow Ranger shrugged, "It's my business."

"We know," Kevin said, "We're just asking if…"

"Don't ask."

"Okay, I'm sorry, I just…"

"Don't," Emily growled. With her letter in her hand Emily got to her feet and stomped back to her bedroom. When she was gone, Kevin looked at the others.

"What did I do?"

"Nothing," Mia assured her boyfriend. "She's been like that all night. She gave me the silent treatment when I asked her if she wanted the window open just a little bit."

"So it's not just me," Mike scoffed as he pushed himself up from the floor. He picked up his letter, "I'm going back to bed."

The Rangers and Mentor wished him goodnight as he left. When he was gone, Mia looked at Jayden.

"You didn't get a letter?" she asked with concern. Jayden shook his head.

"My family's already here," he told her. "Receiving a letter from your Rangers or Mentor would just be a waste of paper."

"I guess," Mia chuckled. "Mike will be happy to hear you're saving the trees, then."

"I have a question," Kevin looked to Mentor, "Where did these letters come from? They couldn't have just appeared from nowhere."

"What are you saying?" Mentor asked.

"Either someone is impersonating our families, or someone went to visit them," Kevin turned to Jayden, "I might be a little uncomfortable with both those…"

"Don't worry," Jayden smiled, "Your families are safe."

Mia and Kevin frowned and exchanged knowing looks. Jayden thought he was a closed book, but there were times when he was easy to read, such as now. Random letters appearing in the Shiba household wasn't something he would simply shrug off, no matter how happy they made his teammates. He would have many questions on how they managed to receive handwritten letters from his friends' family members, how they managed to find the Shiba household, and how they could break into the house without anyone realising.

"You had something to do with this, didn't you?" Mia asked her leader. Jayden shook his head but a smile crept up on his lips. Mia grinned and reached over to Jayden. She poked him in the arm, "You arranged this! You totally arranged this!"

"I had nothing to do with this," Jayden held his hands up, "I swear. I don't know how those letters…"

"C'mon, Jayden," Kevin smirked, "We won't tell a soul. Mike and Emily never have to find out."

"Mentor?" Mia looked at the older man, hoping he could provide her with answered. Mentor shrugged his shoulders, wished his Rangers goodnight and left the room. Mia turned back to Jayden, "Okay, then, spill."

"I can't say," Jayden grinned. He got to his feet, "Good night you two. Remember to sleep in separate beds."

"Yeah, yeah," Kevin waved off his leader and laughed. Just before the red Ranger was gone, Kevin called to him, "Hey, Jay. Thanks for whatever you did. It means a lot to all of us."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jayden grinned before leaving the couple alone.

Kevin squeezed Mia who was still sitting on his lap. He kissed her before snatching her letter from her hands.

"Trade?" he asked her. Mia didn't have much choice in the matter. Kevin was holding her letter up in the air, just out of her reach. Mia tried to grab it, but Kevin pulled it further away and handed her his.

Mia pouted for a moment before accepting his letter, "Alright. But you can't laugh at my…"

"Your cooking-impaired-grandmother discovered a new recipe?" Kevin chuckled. Mia shot him a glare.

"I haven't gotten the chance to tell her about our genetic inability to cook. She still thinks she's amazing."

"That'll be an awkward return," Kevin smirked as he went back to reading Mia's letter. Mia shook her head before she started on Kevin's letter.

"Your dad has fancy hand writing for a man."

-Samurai-

Mike pushed open the door to his bedroom but stopped before he disappeared inside completely. He looked down at the letter in his hand and quickly scanned over it. Powerful emotions overwhelmed him. He was frustrated, relieved, overjoyed, angry and calm all at the same time. He loved getting the chance to hear from his mother and catch up with what was going on in his family, but he hated being so far away from them. He didn't have the perfect childhood, or the perfect relationship with his parents, but no child did. Mike still loved them, he still cared for them and he missed them deeply.

But the more he felt his own pain, the more he thought about Emily. Though she had broken his heart he still cared for her. He still didn't want to see her hurting. He knew that if it hurt him to receive a letter from his healthy parents, it must have hurt her more to hear from her dying sister.

He stuffed his letter in his pocket and headed down the hallway to Emily's bedroom. He knocked twice but didn't wait for permission before walking in. Suddenly, and just in the nick of time, he spotted a flute soaring through the air and his head was the target. He caught it in his hand before it struck him or broke.

He also managed to catch a stuffed ape that had been hurled at his head.

Sadly, he was unable to stop the angry Emily who had launched herself at him, throwing him and her into the wall. Mike dropped the stuffed ape, knowing it would be fine, but he held onto the flute to keep it from breaking as he and Emily crashed to the ground.

The yellow Ranger started beating Mike in the chest. Mike placed the flute out of harm's way on the floor before he grabbed her wrists to keep the beating from continuing. He looked up at Emily who was now sitting on top of him.

"Em…"

"Get out!" Emily struggled to break out of his grasp. While she was better than Mike with a sword, she was hardly a match for him hand-to-hand combat. He was bigger than she was and stronger. He could easily hold her still no matter how much she squirmed.

"Emily, I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Mike tried to tell her gently in hopes she would calm down. "I thought your sister may have…"

"She didn't say anything," Emily growled. She pulled free from Mike and walked over to her bed where he letter was sitting. She tossed it to Mike before lying on her stomach with her head buried in her pillow.

Mike caught the letter as it drifted to the ground. He gave it a quick glance before he got up and placed it on Emily's bedside table. He wasn't going to read it. He sat down beside his weeping ex-girlfriend and slowly pulled her up. Admittedly, he was surprised when Emily didn't resist. She barely moved a muscle as he wrapped his arms around her and buried her in his gentle hold.

"Whenever you're ready to talk," he whispered to her, "someone will listen to you. I want it to be me… I really do, but… as long as you… you know… talk and feel better… I just want you to feel better, okay?"

He kissed the top of her head, knowing there wouldn't be a response from her.

-Samurai-

Mia handed Kevin his letter, "Your dad kind of sounds tough," she commented with a grin. Kevin nodded his head.

"He can be, but he has his moments," Kevin smiled. "I've always admired him. Your grandmother seems sweet. Apparently you inherit a lot from her."

Mia blushed, "Is that a compliment?"

"Yes," Kevin grinned. He kissed Mia's neck and his lips slowly traveled down her shoulder. Mia giggled and turned her head so she was looking at him.

"You seem happier. I'm glad."

"Why wouldn't I be happy?" Kevin asked. "My family's doing well, they must know I'm safe and you're obviously happy."

"I am," Mia smiled. She turned around in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Hey… here's a thought. How about, when we defeat Master Xandred, we meet each other's families. And I don't mean: 'hey, these are my friends Jayden, Mike, Emily and Kevin'. I mean: 'Meet my boyfriend Kevin."

Kevin gulped, "You want to do the meet the family thing?"

"Yeah," Mia nodded, "I don't expect to defeat Master Xandred overnight. It'll be a while. I think we'll be at that step by then."

Kevin thought about it for a moment and smiled. Mia was right, it was likely going to be a long time before they defeated master Xandred. By then he would probably be itching to meet the people who brought Mia, the love of his life, into this world. He nodded and kissed her.

"Sounds like a plan."

He was about to deepen the kiss when he heard a cough in the background. He opened his eyes and met hers before they pulled apart and turned to see Mike standing in the doorway. The green Ranger scratched the back of his neck, feeling awkward after ruining what was obviously a moment.

"Um… I think Emily's ready to talk to someone," he said, "And… uh… I doubt the ex is a good choice."

Mia gave Kevin an apologetic look but he shook his head and smiled.

"Go for it," he told her, "I'm a little tired anyways."

Mia nodded and uncurled herself from his arms. When she left, Mike sat down beside Kevin and held his head in his hands. He let out a long sigh. Kevin couldn't ignore this.

"Are you okay, Mike?" he asked.

Mike shook his head, "I don't know what to do," he said, "I'm hurting. She hurt me and yet… I can't stop thinking about her. All I want to do is be with her."

"You were dumped," Kevin shrugged, "You're still going to have feelings for her for a while."

"I know," Mike sighed, "This isn't my first rodeo… well…"

"Well?"

"I've dated before," Mike said, trying to remain as vague as possible, "I've had girlfriends. I've been in a few longer-than-short-term relationships but... this just feels different from everything else I've done, you know… I love her."

"Oh," Kevin frowned slightly. He was caught off guard by this.

"I just wish I knew why she broke up with me," Mike sighed. He leaned back in his seat, "She must have had her reasons, and whatever it is I can't force her to change her mind but… maybe I could help her, you know?"

"Help her how?"

"If she's struggling with something. I want to help her, Kevin, I really do. Even before she and I started dating… well went on one date, I knew I wanted to be there for her. The moment I laid eyes on her, dude, I knew I wanted to protect her from anything, no matter what."

"I know how you feel," Kevin nodded.

"It just sucks that she won't talk to me. She just tells me to go away and shuts me out."

Kevin didn't know what to say, never mind how to help his _little brother_. He gave him a pat on the shoulder and a sympathetic smile.

"Mia's helping her. Maybe that's all you can do."

"Love sucks," Mike grumbled.


	41. Talks

Mia felt the need to knock on the bedroom door before she walked in, even thought the room was just as much hers as it was Emily's. After knocking she slowly opened the door and stepped inside.

"Emily?" she called softly but she received no response from the figure sitting on Emily's bed with her back turned to Mia. She sighed and looked around the room. Quickly, she noticed Emily's flute was on the floor. With a frown she picked it up and carried it over to her little sister.

"You don't want to lose this," she said. She placed it on Emily's bedside table.

After a few moments of silence Mia let out a sigh, "You're a bit of a depressing yellow, you know that, right?"

"I don't care," the words were cold which worried Mia. Normally the pink Ranger, as well as everyone else in the house, knew that if they needed to hear a sweet, kind, caring and non-judgemental voice they could go to Emily. No matter the issue. She always tried to lighten the tone, cheer up the room and her spirit and optimism were always contagious. Even on the worst of days, Emily could infect the entire house and by the time dinner rolled around, everyone would once again be laughing and smiling.

But not today. Not with this tone.

"You worry me," Mia said. She took a seat on the bed, "You worry me a lot."

"Don't," Emily shook her head, "You don't have to."

"I know," Mia smiled, "that doesn't mean I'm not going to worry. I don't have to do a lot of things, but I still do them. I do what I want to do."

Silence. Mia sighed. She placed her hand on Emily's back.

"You know I care about you. I care about you a lot," she started as she scooted over closer to the youngest Ranger. "I've always cared about you. You piss me off sometimes, and when we first met you drove me crazy. Don't get me wrong, it was a good kind of crazy, but sometimes I think about… well; let's just say sleepless nights bring out a different Mia than what you're used to seeing."

"I don't care."

Mia frowned, "You don't care? Care about what? How I care about you? Or do you not care about me?"

Again the room filled with silence for a moment. Mia leaned in closer to Emily and looked over her shoulder to get a look at Emily's face. Emily's hair did a good job at covering her face, but Mia still had her hand on Emily's back and the longer the room was silent, the more Mia could feel Emily's body shaking. She brushed Emily's hair out of her face and gasped when she saw Emily was having a hard time fighting back tears. Without hesitating, she pulled the earth Samurai into her arms.

"Emy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Mia wasn't convinced. Not for a second. Emily didn't cry over nothing. It was the opposite. She only cried when she really felt lost or scared. It was her way of calling for help; her way of telling the others she was in way too deep and needed a hand.

"Whatever it is, you can talk to me about it," she assured her friend, "If it's about your sister, or Mike, or just something else that's bugging you. No one else has to know, I promise you that."

"I don't want to talk," Emily whispered, "I just want to get this over with. Just leave me alone!"

Alarm bells went off in Mia's head when she heard her upset little sister saying this. Under normal circumstances these bells would have remained silent, and Emily's comment would have been taken in another way entirely, but after everything that had happened, Mia couldn't help but panic. Emily suddenly breaking up with Mike, distancing herself from her friends, refusing to talk, especially about her sister…

Mia jumped off the bed in panic while never breaking contact with Emily. She rushed around the bed, knelt before the young girl and took her hands.

"Emy, c'mon, there's nothing you can say to me that'll make me change the way I think about you," Mia assured her best friend. She tried to look Emily in the eyes but Emily seemed to be doing everything she could to prevent eye contact. Mia sighed, "Emy, what's going through your head?"

"Nothing."

"Emy…"

"Nothing!" Emily shouted. Mia could almost feel the walls coming up around the yellow Ranger. She let out another sigh before letting her go and walking over to the end table. Normally she would never invade Emily's privacy, but this felt like an emergency. She picked up the letter Emily received from Serena and started reading over it. She was relieved when there was no word of Serena's illness getting worse or family troubles at home.

Emily turned around after a few minutes and saw Mia was reading her letter. She dove to the other side of the bed and snatched the letter out of her hand.

"That's mine!"

"I'm just…" Mia paused. If things were fine for Emily back at home then there was something else bothering her. But Emily wasn't opening up. She looked down as Emily held the letter tightly in her hand. Finally, their eyes met.

"Emy," Mia started. She lowered herself so she was at the same level as the girl, "I love you, you know I do. I'm really worried about you right now. Please just talk to me."

"You can't," Emily whispered. Mia furrowed her brow and leaned in closer.

"You can't?"

"_You _can't."

Still, Mia was confused.

"I can't? I can't what."

"You can't love me," Emily breathed.

"What?" Mia frowned, "Why not? Do you love me?" it was a bit of a selfish question to ask but Mia needed to ask it.

Emily closed her eyes as tears threatened to spill over. She nodded her head.

"Yeah."

"Then… what's the problem?"

"I can't lose anyone else," Emily whispered just before jumping into Mia's arms. For a moment the pink Ranger was lost. Who was Emily going to lose? Who had she already lost? Why was she scared of losing anyone else?

As she hugged Emily, she replayed the conversation in her mind, hoping to pick up on some kind of clue or signal or…

Suddenly, it hit. The pieces fell into place for Mia and she felt stupid for not realising it earlier.

She pulled Serena's letter out of Emily's hand and quickly hid it out of sight for the time being. She wrapped her arms around Emily again and whispered softly, "We're not going anywhere."

-Samurai-

Mike threw a tennis ball against the wall, Kevin was swinging his katana and Jayden was pacing back and forth, trying to figure out what to do.

Emily and Mia were late for training. This was unusual. They were never late. Not once. But Jayden had woken them up in the middle of the night for an emotional surprise. He couldn't blame them if they needed a few hours to recuperate. He knew they weren't likely to read the letters and fall straight back to sleep afterwards. In a way, it was partially his fault the girls were late. This was why he didn't want to get them or start training without them.

On the other hand, the girls were never late. Something had to be wrong if they were late, in which case it would have been smart to go and get them. But he wasn't sure, and it wasn't like he could invite himself into their bedroom. That could easily become something very awkward if he was mistaken, or if he walked in at the wrong time.

"Why don't we just start and let them catch up when they come out?" Kevin suggested. He didn't like starting training without Mia, especially considering she was his partner, but he knew he needed to practice.

"Why are they late?" Jayden asked, though it was mostly a question for himself. Still, Mike shrugged.

"Emily was pretty upset last night. And you guys know what Mia's like when she knows someone's hurting. She digs and digs until she breaks you. They were probably up all night and now they're just… tired."

"Maybe," Jayden conceded. He shook his head, "Alright, we'll start. But if they don't show up by the time we finish, we're going in."

"If she'll let us in," Mike sighed. He dropped the tennis ball and walked to the training mat.

After a few hours and just before training was about to end, the boys noticed the door sliding open and Emily stepping out. Nervously she walked to her friends. The entire time she repeated to herself Mia's words of encouragement.

"_Just say you need to talk. It's not that hard."_

"_But Mike…"_

"_Has a right to know. He cares about you – a lot. He's probably worried. You don't want him to worry."_

"_No…"_

"_You'll be fine. We'll explain this together. Just bring them inside."_

"Good morning, Emily," Kevin smiled when his little sister stopped before him and the other boys, "Did you sleep well?"

"Can we talk?" Emily asked the trio. She pointed inside, "It's important."

"Yeah, sure," Jayden collected the training swords and put them away before he and Kevin walked back into the house. Emily turned to follow them but Mike grabbed her arm.

"Hold up…"

"Mike, can we talk inside?" Emily asked. This was already awkward. She didn't Mike to make things more difficult.

"Did the talk with Mia help?" Mike asked with genuine concern. "I know it's probably none of my business but I just… are you okay?"

Emily furrowed her brow and tilted her head slightly. Mike still cared for her. This confused her. She knew she had hurt him when she broke things off. If anything he should have been mad at her. He should have hated her. But she was getting the impression he didn't.

"You really care?" she asked. Mike nodded his head.

"I love you, Em, of course I care," the words slipped out of his mouth but he meant them. Every word. Whether she felt the same way or not, he didn't regret letting her know how he felt.

A smile appeared on Emily's lips. Even a small, broken smile like this one made the butterflies in Mike's stomach flutter and his heart skip a beat. He wrapped his arms around her, "You're my friend, or my girlfriend or my teammate or whatever, and whatever I am to you I still… I love you."

There it was again. Emily's smile. This time slightly bigger. Now his heart was pounding.

He took her hand and led her inside, remembering she had wanted to talk with the rest of the Rangers.

"C'mon," he told her, "let's figure this out, okay? You can stop being scared or worried and we'll go back to being happy. No matter the outcome for us."


	42. Can't Afford to Lose

Once the five Rangers were sitting together on their stools the looks started going around. The boys were trying to read the girls, especially Emily, to figure out what the talk was about and if they needed to be worried or not. Kevin tried to pull an early answer from Mia but the pink Ranger shook her head. Had this been her own personal matter, he would have been first to know, but because this was an issue that started with Emily he was going to have to wait just like the others.

Kevin understood and took her hand in his as Mia addressed the room.

"We all kind of need to talk about something," she started. She glanced over at Emily who shifted uncomfortably. This was her problem, but earlier in the morning Mia had told her that it was an issue that would surely touch everyone sooner or later. It was better to get it out in the open before anyone else had to get hurt.

"It's an open circle," Jayden smiled comfortingly. "We can talk about anything."

"Good," Mia nodded her head, "because this is about us, all of us, and how we are as a team. I think it's obvious to everyone that this is a very close-knit team."

"We're like family," Kevin agreed as he squeezed Mia's hand. He looked to the others, "You're like the siblings I never had."

"Same here," Mike nodded.

"That's the problem," Mia sighed. "Between starting relationships and family bonds it's clear we've all crossed the line. We all care about each other. There's not a single person here who wouldn't go to any extreme to protect anyone else in this room."

"Where is this going?" Kevin turned to his girlfriend with a curious look.

"The reason we had to leave our families behind was because we were close to them," she explained. "We would do anything for them. They were in danger and they were also a danger to us. We left them behind because it would keep them safe and it would make saving the world a hell of a lot easier. But… now we have a new family."

"We have each other," Jayden nodded. He couldn't deny the truth in Mia's words. The Rangers were his family. He would do anything for him. He had tried to prove that when he ran away to keep them safe. It hadn't been the smartest of plans and in hindsight he realised just how much danger he put them in, but that only proved Mia's point. Close relationships were dangerous in the Samurai Ranger business. Unnecessary sacrifices and mistakes were more likely to occur now that emotions were in the game and unfortunately that gave Master Xandred a slight advantage.

"What are you saying?" Mike asked, "Big, bad, and ugly could use one of us to get to someone else? Like if he wanted to get to Mia he would go through Kevin and use him as…"

"Bait," Jayden finished for Mike. He understood the point Mia was making and nodded his head to answer Mike's question.

"I don't want to see Kevin get hurt," Mia said as she looked at Kevin, "I would do anything to keep that from happening. Anything."

"Same here," Kevin breathed.

Mike turned to look at Emily. He thought this talk was supposed to be for her, to help her with whatever she was going through at this time.

"Does this have anything to do with what's been bothering you?" he asked her. Emily glanced over at Mia and then nodded her head.

"I know what it's like to watch someone you love die," she explained, "I've been watching and waiting for eight years. Ever since Serena got sick, we knew it was only a matter of time before she died."

"But she's not dead yet," Mike pointed out. "And if she's got half the strength you've got, I'm sure there's still a lot of fight left in her."

"Yeah, but… I don't want to go through this again. I don't want to do it a second time. It hurts. It hurts a lot. You get close to someone, you share everything with them and then suddenly they're gone or they're going to go."

"None of us want to go through that," Mia took over the conversation again knowing this was hard on Emily. "I mean, remember that time a Nighlok turned Kevin against us? We were terrified we would never get him back."

Kevin lowered his head. Though that hadn't been his fault and his team had forgiven him, he still didn't like to be reminded of the time he hurt them.

"Or when Emily fell from the ravine," Mia continued. "Seeing her down at the bottom of the ravine completely helpless nearly made me sick."

Mike scratched the bad of his neck nervously knowing he had been the cause of that little episode.

"Or when Jayden ran away," Mia finished, "I know we were all scared and hurt. Imagine all that terror, fear and hurt again, but imagine feeling it when you know someone you love just died."

"I would rather not," Kevin shook his head. "I don't think I ever want to know what it feels like to lose any of you."

"But we can't break contact with each other like we did with our families," Jayden pointed out. "We're a team. We need to stick together. We'll have to find a way to work around that."

"I say we use our friendship to our advantage," Kevin suggested with a smile. "We'll figure it out somehow. But teams that work together, they're the teams that work. If we know each other's strengths and weaknesses and use each other to form a… a…"

"One massive group of amazingness," Mike assisted his blue Ranger. Kevin chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, a group of amazingness, there's no way Master Xandred can touch us!"

"We'll take our strength from each other. We'll support our weakest link when they need us and we'll repair all the cracks so Master Xandred can't break us," Jayden smirked. "It sounds like a good plan to me."

"Definitely," Mia smiled. She looked at Emily hoping the conversation had done what it needed to do to help her. Emily smiled back and nodded her head.

Kevin tapped Jayden's shoulder, "How about another half-hour outside?" he asked his leader, "If we get the training over with today, we can do a little bit of that friendship bonding thing for the rest of the day."

"We'll meet you outside," Mia kissed her boyfriend before he left with Jayden. She then switched stools and sat beside Emily.

"So you're feeling better?"

"Yeah," Emily nodded, "Thanks, Mia."

"Don't worry about it," Mia hugged the yellow Ranger, "It's like I told you last night; I don't do things because I know I have to do them. I do them because I want to do them. You had me worried and I wanted to help you."

"You did," Emily assured her. Mia gently shoved her.

"Good. Now, don't you ever scare me like that again."

Emily frowned, "Scare you? I knew you were worried but…"

"Last night you said you just wanted to get this over with… I thought…" Mia paused when she saw Emily wasn't catching on to what she was trying to say. It took a moment before Mia realised that maybe she didn't understand either, "Um, what did you mean by that?"

"I just wanted the Ranger thing to end," Emily said. "You know, stop Master Xandred so I could go home… why? What did you think I meant?"

"Uh," Mia shifted her gaze from side to side nervously but felt very relieved. She then chuckled and shook her head, "Nothing. Never mind. Glad you're feeling better."

She gave her little sister one last hug before following Jayden and Kevin outside for the last half-hour of training. She wanted to get a little practice in, especially after missing the entire morning session.

Emily was about to get up and follow until she noticed Mike hadn't moved from his stool. He was just sitting there, lost in thought. Awkwardly, she approached him and tapped his shoulder.

"Mike… are you… are you coming?" she stammered. Mike snapped out of his thoughts and looked to her.

"Sorry, I was just… thinking."

"Yeah, um… I could tell…" Emily tried not to make eye contact as she pointed over her shoulder, "Uh… everyone's training outside. Do… um… are you… do you think you'll come or…"

"Can we talk… actually?" Mike tapped the stool next to him as an invitation for Emily to sit down. She quickly glanced to the door before turning back to Mike and nodding.

"I guess…"

"I promise I'm not going to try and get you to change your mind," he chuckled, "it's just… I want to figure something out."

"O-Okay…"

"Can I ask you something?" Mike asked. He had always hated that question but realised there really wasn't a way to start a personal conversation without it. Emily nodded her head.

"Anything."

"I want to know why you decided to… I mean, what made you chose to end… was it… was it something I did?"

At first Emily didn't understand what Mike was asking because he had changed his question around quite a bit but she slowly caught on and shook her head.

"It wasn't you. I'm sorry."

"Em… don't…"

"I got scared," Emily explained. "Jayden had just reminded Kevin and me why we couldn't see or hear from our families and he started talking about how they could get hurt as a way of getting to us and I guess I freaked out. Jayden went on and on about personal relationships being a risk and… you're one of the people I don't want to lose."

Mike smiled, "I know."

"No," Emily shook her head and took Mike's hand, "You're special. I would hate to lose Jayden, Kevin or Mia… but I know after a while it would get easier to live without them. I mean it would suck, but…"

"I get it," Mike chuckled, "You would learn to live without them."

Emily nodded, "Yeah… but with you… I love you too much to lose you, Mike. I already have to lose my sister… I can't lose you too."

Mike smiled and squeezed her hand gently. He had no idea if she was aware of what she had just said, but he didn't care. He heard it, and he knew she meant it.

"You're not going to lose me," he assured her. "Em, I would do anything to keep you happy and I would never do anything to you that would cause you any kind of pain."

"I know… and that scares me," Emily pulled her hand out of his, "I'm sorry I had to break up with you."

"It's…" this was the hardest thing Mike ever had to do, "It's okay, Em. I get it."

"I'm… I'm just… I…" Emily leapt into Mike and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I don't want to lose you."

"You never will," he whispered the promise into her ear as he held her; "I'll never let anything hurt you, Em, not even me."


	43. Swimming Pool

After a few days of intense training, a few Nighlok attacks, and some pretty weird training exercises Jayden could only call "Ranger Bonding", the group of five finally had a day off.

Just as Mia promised Kevin she was taking him to a pool so he could feel the comforts of home without putting his family in danger. However, after the talk about Ranger bonding that the group had only a few days ago, Kevin insisted that Mia let the other three tag along so they too could have a little fun. They all got to enjoy Mia's cookies, anyways; it was only fair their share Kevin's family memory.

Mia and Kevin were swimming in the deep-end. Thanks to a little funding from Mentor Ji they had enough money to rent out the pool for themselves for a few hours, meaning there were no outsiders watching them or their friends. They were free to do as they wished. Due to the size of the pool, and because the other three were still in the shallow end, Kevin had a lot of room to show Mia his swimming talents.

Mia clung onto the wall as she watched Kevin swim back and forth. She was surprised at how fast he was going, even though she knew that shouldn't have been a surprise. He was the water Samurai, after all, and he had been training in the pool since he was a small boy.

She also watched because she liked seeing him in a bathing suit.

Kevin swam up beside her and pulled his head out of the water with a smile. He looked at Mia.

"What do you think?"

"Amazing," Mia smiled back. Kevin looked out at the water.

"How fast do you think you can go?" he asked. Mia looked at him and shook her head.

"Not fast at all," she laughed. "I was never much of a swimmer. I took lessons as a kid but stopped when I was told I needed to be trained to be a Samurai, and unlike you I can't exactly mix swimming with my elemental training."

"I guess not," Kevin smirked as an idea came to mind. He leaned in closer to kiss her, but just before their lips touched he pulled away and swam off. Mia pouted and turned to him.

"That's mean."

"You want a kiss?" he asked her from the middle of the deep end. Mia nodded her head and Kevin splashed her, "Come get it then."

Mia pushed off the wall to swim over to him. Kevin was impressed with her technique, especially given she had only taken basic lessons as a kid, but he knew she was a fast learner and she must have picked up on a few things while watching him.

Just as she was about to reach him, though, he took off again, hoping to make it to the other side before she caught him.

Over in the shallow end, Mike was already in the water. He was looking up at Jayden who refused to get in.

"Fire and water don't mix," Jayden shook his head, "I would rather sit and watch."

"Do you need some floaty wings?" Emily teased her leader as she brought over a pair of water wings that would (hopefully) fit around Jayden's arms. He glared at her.

"I know how to swim," he said. "I just don't enjoy it."

"C'mon, dude, we're here for Kevin," Mike tried to use the team bonding to get Jayden into the pool. If he made swimming sound like it could be important to fighting monsters then maybe he could get Jayden into the pool.

"Mia's here for Kevin," Jayden pointed out. "We're here because Kevin asked who wanted to come and you spoke for the rest of us."

"What can I say?" Mike grinned. He glanced at Emily in her bathing suit as she pulled more water toys out of the bag Mia had brought, "I like swimming."

Jayden caught the look Mike was giving the yellow Ranger and sighed. He shook his head, "Of course _you_ would," he tossed one of the water wings Emily had given him to Mike, "Stop staring before it's obvious."

"What?" Mike shrugged innocently.

Jayden rolled his eyes, "I thought you two broke up, anyways."

"We did," Mike nodded, "We still are. What's your point?"

"Maybe you should focus on moving on instead of… EEK!" Jayden screamed when he felt cold water blast him in the back. He turned and saw Emily was sitting by the edge of the pool with a water gun in her hand and it was pointed right at him. He glared at the youngest Ranger.

"You didn't…" he growled.

Emily giggled and tossed the water gun aside, "Maybe."

"And why did you think it would be a good idea to squirt me?" Jayden asked.

Emily shrugged, "I wanted to see what happened when you get a fire Samurai wet. Nothing happens."

"Something happens," Jayden smirked as he walked over to Emily and picked her up. Emily screamed with laughter as Jayden tossed her into the pool. The plan backfired though when Emily's splash soaked him.

Mike chuckled, "Dude, you're not supposed to get yourself wet."

"Shut up," Jayden frowned and he tossed Emily the yellow noodle as she surfaced.

Emily swam back to the side of the pool with the noodle. She placed her feet on the bottom of the pool and grabbed the noodle with both hands before swinging it at Jayden repeatedly.

"Get in the water!" she cried just before succeeding in her mission. Jayden, with no other option, was forced to jump into the water to get away from Emily's surprise noodle wielding skills. He dove in and swam as far away from her as possible.

When he surface he brushed the hair away from his face and glared at her, "You're deadly."

Emily flashed him a sweet and innocent smile, "I know."

Mike laughed before getting out of the water and going to the toy storage that the public pool provided for the kids. He knew he and the others were probably too old to play with these toys without raising a few eyebrows, but what fun was playing in the water without a few silly toys.

Back in the deep end, Mia finally caught up to Kevin and he pulled her in for her reward. She kissed him until she was satisfied and then splashed him with water. Kevin pulled back in shock and Mia quickly climbed out of the pool to get away from him before he could get his revenge. Kevin climbed out after her and began to chase her.

"No running!" Jayden called and the couple were quickly reminded of the number one rule when around swimming pools. They slowed to a walk and chased each other that way. It looked a lot crazier as Kevin and Mia walked around, and around, and around the pool.

Mike almost completely emptied the public pool's toy closet by the time he reached the toys he really wanted to get: five large Styrofoam boards that had been cut into different shapes such as stars, turtles and fish. He placed four of them on the ground and pulled out the fifth by the time Kevin and Mia came walking around. A light bulb went off in his head and just as Kevin crossed his path, Mike slammed the giant turtle into his friend and pushed him back into the pool. He turned to Mia who watched with laughter.

"You're welcome!" he bowed. He picked up the other four floating boards and tossed the fish and the star to Jayden and Emily. Jayden caught him but was unsure of what to do with it. Emily grabbed hers and tried to jump on it, but the star flipped over, submerging her under the water. She surfaced, spit the water out of her mouth and glared at the star.

"I hope you know you're messing with the wrong person," it was a fair warning for the Styrofoam floaty, but it showed no fear as Emily tried to jump on again and once again it flipped her.

Mia grabbed the other turtle and placed it in the water before getting on top of it. She found her balance and managed to sit on the top surface as she pushed herself away from the ledge. She floated by Emily who was still struggling with her star.

"Shut up," Emily growled to the smirking Mia.

Jayden shrugged and rested his upper body on the fish. He used it to keep himself afloat without needing to use much energy.

Kevin climbed up onto his turtle and bumped into Mia. The two looked at each other before both of them had an idea. Bumper turtles!

Mike tossed his fish into the water before jumping on top of it and using it as a makeshift surfboard. He skimmed a few feet over the water before losing speed and falling.

Emily finally got onto her star and sat on her butt. She grinned happily until the waves from Mike's splash hit her star and flipped her over. She glared at him once she came up from the water.

"I had it."

"Sorry, Em," Mike smirked. He caught her star as it drifted towards him. "Do you want help?"

Emily shook her head and pulled her star away from Mike. She decided she was just going to do like Jayden and lay on her stomach. It was much easier to stay above the water that way.

Kevin and Mia crashed into each other and this time they both fell into the water and their turtles drifted away to the deep end. Mia wanted to go after them but Kevin grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in. He kissed her neck.

"Thanks for today," he whispered just to her.

She turned around in his arms, "A promise is a promise. Even with the others here."

"I've never had this much fun, though. It was just like home, only better."

"Well, anytime you get homesick I'm more than happy to come back," Mia smiled. "Maybe next time we'll leave Fire-boy, Lady Slips-A-Lot and Tarzan at home."

"You just want me alone, don't you?" Kevin smirked knowingly. Mia shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm happy they came. They're entertaining. And today was for you anyways, you were allowed to invite them along."

"How about we watch one of your DVDs tonight?" Kevin suggested. "We'll do it privately. No one else allowed."

"Deal," Mia kissed him before pulling free, "Now, there's only so long I can stay in the water before I get cold. I've reached my limit."

"Our private swim is almost over anyways," Kevin nodded.

Mia checked the large clock on the wall and realised Kevin was right. She climbed out of the pool and walked along the edge until she was close to Emily.

"Time to get out," she told the yellow Ranger as she started to pick up a few of the toys that Emily had taken out, "We'll want to be done getting changed by the time the people start flooding the change rooms.

"Good idea," Emily kicked her legs and floated to the edge of the pool and Mia helped her out. She collected the star from the water and tossed it over to the public storage box. She then collected the last few toys she had dumped on the ground and placed them back into the bag. She picked it up and followed Mia into the girl's change room.

As they left Jayden started swimming back to the side of the pool. Just as he was about to get out he saw Mike was staring at the women's door with his mouth hung open. Jayden looked at Kevin and both boys shook their heads.

"I thought you were broken up," Kevin pointed out as he flicked a little water in Mike's face. Mike snapped back to reality and turned to the boys.

"I… we did."

"Alright, then stop staring at our little sister," Jayden warned. "I thought you didn't want to make things weird or uncomfortable for her."

"I don't. I want her to be happy."

"Well, right now you have a one-way trip to creepy and awkward," Kevin chuckled. Mike turned to him.

"Dude, you're the one who suggested we go to a swimming pool. Did you not know about girls and bathing suits when you suggested it?"

"He was probably thinking about Mia," Jayden teased. Kevin shot his leader a look.

"I was not!"

"Yeah."

"My family memory just… you know… happens to involve putting my girlfriend into a two-piece bathing suit. It's a very happy coincidence."

"Whatever you say," Jayden rolled his eyes.


	44. Pizza Night

"Maybe we should go to the swimming pool more often. This is kind of relaxing."

"How long do you think this will last? The last thing I need is her awake all night."

"We'll wake her up before too late."

"Good," Mia took a seat on her stool, enjoying the peace and quiet now that Emily was asleep. She knew swimming would be a tiring event, but Emily had taken it to a new level. All that exercise had completely drained her, and while the others were getting changed out of their wet clothes and bathing suits and into something clean and comfortable, Emily had fallen asleep in the common room, still unchanged. The downside to having to many residents and so few rooms was that only so many people could get changed at once, and Emily was last to go.

At least she had fallen asleep in a comfortable position, unlike the time the Rangers had woken up and discovered Mike passed out with his face pressed against his video game controller. While she waited for a room to open up, Emily had pushed together two of the large stools and laid across them. She used her towel as a blanket and shut her eyes.

Kevin scratched the back of his neck as he looked at her, "You know, that's a good idea."

"Passing out in the middle of the room?" Mike asked with a chuckle. Kevin shook his head.

"No, that's inconvenient for everyone else," he said as he watched Jayden try to make his way around Emily without waking her, "I meant using the stools as a bed for when you decide to practice your trumpet."

"Oh… yeah. Does that mean you'll camp out here and I'll get a room to myself?" Mike asked hopefully. Kevin chuckled and shook his head.

"Dream on, Snoozer," he turned his head to Mia and gestured to the kitchen, "How about we do that movie thing now that she's asleep. I'll pop a bag of popcorn and you can pick out whatever movie you want to watch."

"Another movie date?" Mike asked with a grin, "And this time Emily's not in the room. Oh, là là."

"You irritate me," Mia chuckled. She grabbed one of the blankets from under the table and lifted the wet towel from on top of Emily. She laid the blanket across her friend so she wouldn't get cold, "We're just watching a movie together. No big deal."

"Sure, just remember to put a sock on the door or something so we don't walk in on you."

"Go play video games," Mia tossed the wet towel at Mike as she shooed him from the room, just in time for Kevin to return with a bowl of popcorn.

"Was he bugging you?"

Mia shook her head, "He was just being Mike. He thinks this movie date is going to lead to something more."

"Personally, I'm not ready for anything more," Kevin told Mia as they walked to the bedroom. "We haven't been dating long and while I love you, I still need to be sure. You know? Anyways, I like where we are."

"Same here," Mia smiled. She took Kevin's hand and leaned into him.

-Samurai-

Mike knocked on Jayden's door while holding his favourite video game in his hand. It was a two-player game and normally Jayden would be the last person Mike would ask but today he was the only option. Jayden opened the door.

"Yes?"

"You, me, and a long night in front of the TV," Mike offered. Jayden looked at the video game in his friend's hand before shaking his head.

"Sorry, Mike, not today. I've got to come up with next week's training schedule so Mentor can approve it."

"Are you serious, dude?" Mike sighed, "C'mon, how often do you get asked to play games with the video master?"

"Why don't you ask Kevin?"

Mike shook his head, "Kevin and Mia are on a movie date right now…"

"Sucks for you, then," Jayden chuckled. He leaned against the door frame, "Why don't you find something else to do? You can never train too much, you know."

"It's a day off," Mike said, "I plan on enjoying this."

Jayden nodded in agreement. He knew his friends weren't like him. For them, a day off meant a day off training, not a day where they could get extra training time done. He understood they needed their breaks and they didn't work like he did. So he offered up another solution.

"Why don't you go pick up a pizza or something for dinner?" he suggested as he walked back into his room and picked up some money from his desk. "Mentor's probably not going to cook and I don't really care what we eat."

"You trust me to buy a pizza and bring it home?" Mike asked a little surprised. Pizza never lasted long with him.

"Well, we're probably not going to be eating if you don't," Jayden smirked. He handed Mike the money, "Mia and Kevin are probably filling up on popcorn, so only get enough for yourself and Emily."

"What about you?" Mike frowned.

"I guess I'll eat leftovers."

"Are you trying to set us up again?" Mike looked at Jayden. The red Ranger shook his head.

"I'm making sure someone feeds Sleeping Beauty before she goes hungry," he said, "You wouldn't want her to go hungry, would you?"

"Of course not. I'll bring something home."

-Samurai-

The house was silent. Too silent. Emily knew she was usually the source of noise in the house, but there should have been a little noise without her.

She looked around the room, realising she had fallen asleep before getting changed. She had some clothes on from after swimming but they were still slightly damp. She also knew she was going to have to shower to get rid of the smell of chlorine. She only loved the smell of the pool when she was swimming.

She pushed herself into a sitting position and realised someone had placed a blanket over her. She readjusted it and snuggled in before looking around again for any sign of life. Just as she was about to get up, she heard the front door opening and the smell of fresh pizza quickly filled the room.

Mike walked in with a smile, which only brightened when he saw Emily was awake. He laid out the pizza for her on the table.

"Dinner is served," he said with a chuckle as he pulled up a stool. Emily scooted her stool in closer and looked at the pizza.

"There are no pickles."

Pickles were one of Mike's favourite pizza toppings. Whenever he ordered a pizza, even if the rest of the house was going to eat the pizza, he always bribed the restaurant to put pickles all over the pizza. Emily always hated how she had to dig through the cheese to pick off the unwanted topping. But today, Mike brought home her favourite. Simple cheese and pepperoni pizza.

"Of course not," Mike pulled a slice from the pizza, "You don't like pickles."

"It's just… you always want pickles. Whenever we order pizza you always…"

"That was before," Mike nodded, "I decided not to put you through the whole pickle picking business."

"Oh… thanks."

"I also got you a little dessert," Mike lifted a plastic bag from beside his stool and he placed it on the table. "It's just a little brownie. The pizza place was selling them and I thought I would bring you their last piece."

He pulled out the container with the brownie and handed it to her. Emily took it but looked at Mike suspiciously. Her favourite pizza and desert and none of the other Rangers in sight… something was odd.

"Mike…"

"I know what this looks like," Mike interrupted, "I swear, I'm not trying anything. I just… you know… I just like to make you happy. That's all I've ever wanted, Em."

"Mike…" Emily sighed. She placed the brownie back on the table and lowered her head, "You know I can't do this."

"I know, Em," Mike nodded. "This is completely innocent, I swear. Mia and Kevin are watching a movie and Jayden's in his room. We need to eat… this is Jayden's money. I didn't plan this."

"Okay…" Emily breathed before the room filled with silence. She took a bite of her pizza and swallowed. She looked at Mike as he ate. "You know why I can't do this."

"Em, it's okay, really."

"I don't want you to get hurt."

"Emily, it's fine."

"Are you hurt?"

Mike looked up at her after hearing this and sighed. He couldn't lie to her. He wanted her to know how he felt. He nodded his head.

"Yeah, Em, this hurts. You know how I feel about you."

"I don't know how Kevin and Mia make this work," Emily finished her slice of pizza. "Everything just works out for them. It's so easy and so… perfect. They don't do this to each other."

"They love each other."

"We…" she stopped herself and thought about what she was about to say. She knew how Mike felt, she knew how she felt, but it was putting it into words that was difficult. Letting herself love someone else, without being sure of what was going to happen next was scary for her.

"We love each other, I know," Mike nodded with a smile. Emily looked at him, a little surprised he knew what she had been about to say. He chuckled, "You let it slip the other day. I don't think you even realised you said it."

"Oh…"

"This is the part where you try to deny it," Mike chuckled. "This is where you tell me you were upset and scared and you were just saying things that you didn't really mean because you had no idea what you were saying and…"

"I can't lie," Emily shrugged.

Mike looked at her hopefully, "So, you're not going to try and take it back?"

"No."

"Well, what does that mean?"

"I don't know."

"I love you, you love me…"

"Don't start singing that song," Emily smiled, "It gives me nightmares."

"Zombies and Barney, huh?" Mike laughed, "Anything else?"

"A lot of stuff," Emily nodded. She picked up the brownie and walked around the table over to Mike. She sat down in his lap and curled up against him. She always fit perfectly in his arms. She ripped off a piece of the brownie and fed it to him. "But you promised you would protect me."

"Yeah, I know I did."

"I trust you," Emily rested her head against his chest, "I love you."

"Em, are you… are you changing your mind?"

"I'm a woman, that's how we work."

"I don't want you to feel pressured or anything. If you can't do this, I understand. It hurts me, but I don't want to see you unhappy or scared or…"

Emily interrupted him with a kiss, "Zombies, dinosaurs, diseases and Mia alone in the kitchen scare me. Losing you… I can't ever face that."

Mike smiled. He kissed her forehead and pulled her in closer so there was no gap between them, "I love you too."


	45. The Enemy's Visit

As usual, the romantic comedy movie marathon Kevin had promised Mia had put him to sleep. It had done the same to Mia, though, so when he woke up in the middle of the night and realised he had abandoned her, he didn't feel so bad knowing she had passed out as well.

He didn't want to get caught in a compromising position once again by his friends so he inched his way out of the bed and grabbed the DVD player from on top of Mia so she wouldn't roll over and break it during the night. He set it down on the ground, tucked under the bed slightly, and looked around the room to see if there was a clock or anything so he could tell the time. He saw Emily was already in bed and figured it was late enough at night.

The only clock seemed to be near her, which was probably a good idea on Mia's part. Emily was usually the first one awake between the two and was easily awakened by loud noises. Kevin could only assume that when the alarm clock went off in the mornings it would wake Emily and Emily would then do her thing to wake up Mia. Usually that involved jumping on Mia's bed until she was wide awake.

He tip-toed over to her bed and glanced at the time: 3:00 AM. He sighed loudly. Mike was probably also in bed and that meant he had a huge head start to fall asleep. Knowing his luck, Mike was already snoring loudly.

Kevin walked over to the door, but just as he was about to leave he turned and looked at Mia one last time. He was glad he did, because in the corner of his eye he thought he saw a human shadow moving just outside the window.

He walked back to the window and looked outside to make sure no one was trying to spy on the girls. The house was out in the middle of nowhere, and it was unlikely that there was someone outside, but Kevin didn't want to take that risk. If someone did found the Shiba house and was trying to look inside it meant back news for everyone.

He didn't see anything but something inside him didn't want to let the matter go. He glanced back at Mia and smiled as he watched her sleep. He didn't want anything to happen to her. He decided he would go outside and take a look around the house. If there was someone out there he would figure it out. If there wasn't then a little fresh air never killed anyone, and he could sleep easy knowing Mia was safe.

He made his way to the front door and slid on his shoes. He didn't bother to tie them. He hoped he wouldn't be outside for long. He grabbed his jacket because the nights could get rather cold and he stepped outside.

Kevin figured he would circle the house twice for good measure before heading back inside and going back to bed. He checked the training area and searched behind the benches, training dummies and walked all the way up to the bushes to see if there was anything hiding there. He walked along the side of the house and glanced from side to side to see if anything was moving. He got around to the other side of the house, where the girls' window was, and here was where he did his thorough search. He scanned every section of the land behind the house and walked the border of the forest to make sure there was nothing in sight. Just as he was about to finish his first round and go again he thought he heard someone taking a deep breath. He grabbed his Samuraizer and slowly turned to the source of the noise.

"It's stupid to come outside alone."

"You're that guy that wants to fight Jayden," Kevin said when he saw the face of the man. "You're… you're…"

"Dekker."

"Whatever, how did you find us?"

"It wasn't difficult," Dekker shrugged, "Samurai always try to hide away from the rest of the city. It's pathetic, really.

"Why are you here?" Kevin held up his Samuraizer but Dekker smacked it away. The Samuraizer hit the ground a few feet away from Kevin. The water Samurai looked at his fallen Samuraizer then turned to Dekker.

"You don't need that. It is not you I want to fight," Dekker said once Kevin looked at him.

"You're not going anywhere near Jayden," Kevin stated bravely. Dekker snickered.

"Now is not the time for the battle. I am merely here to observe."

"Observe what?" Kevin asked. He turned to the house and glanced at the window. Dekker followed his gaze and smirked.

"This is the first time the Rangers have fallen in love," he said. "Normally the Samurai avoided emotional attachments. However, this seems to work in my favour."

"What do you…?" Kevin frowned as he glared at Dekker, "Touch her and you die."

"You hardly possess the skills to challenge Urumasa," Dekker said. "Besides, I'm not interested in the pink Ranger. My fight is with…"

"Red Ranger, we know," Kevin nodded, "but we have bigger fish to fry. Take your pathetic blood-thirsty sword and get lost!"

"You amuse me, Blue Ranger," Dekker smirked, "It's been a long time since I've seen someone with enough stupidity to offend Urumasa."

Dekker stepped closer to the house and Kevin stepped in his way. He glanced at his Samuraizer, which was still on the ground a little ways away. He saw Dekker reaching for his sword and he knew he had to make a move, but if he went for his Samuraizer, the house would be left unguarded and he and Dekker were standing just outside Mia's bedroom.

"This better work," Kevin muttered to himself as he held his hand up in the air and traced the symbol for current. Dekker watched, amazed, as the blue Samurai blasted him with a jet of water which appeared almost from nowhere. He hit the ground and looked where the Samuraizer had landed. The blue Ranger had used his powers without the little device.

Kevin dropped to his knees. He had been practicing occasionally without his Samuraizer but it was a draining ability. Still, he knew it had been his only option.

Dekker got to his feet and brushed himself off, "Interesting. How many more of you Samurai have learned to do that?"

"Kevin!"

Kevin and Dekker turned when they heard the other Samurai Rangers approaching. Dekker took a few steps back and removed his hand from his sword. He smiled.

"The whole family's here."

Mia knelt down beside Kevin.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Jayden stepped forward, "What do you want, Dekker?"

"I was merely here to observe," Dekker smiled, "I've been thinking a lot about our duel since the last time we met. It occurred to me you fight bravely to defend your friends. I wanted to see what they meant to you."

"You're fight's with me!" Jayden shouted, "Leave them out of it."

"I want a challenging fight, red Ranger," Dekker said, "I want you to give me everything's you've got. I'll need you to fight as if they were in danger."

"You're not going near them!"

"Not now," Dekker agreed, "The time to fight is not now. Watch your back, red Ranger. I will be back."

With that, Dekker disappeared. Mike quickly turned to his leader; a little afraid this talk with Dekker would bring back some old issues that had only been resolved recently.

"We'll take that guy as a team, Jay," he placed his hand on Jayden's shoulder, "He won't hurt any of us."

"I know," Jayden nodded and turned to Kevin, "What did he say to you?"

"Nothing you don't already know," Kevin said as he got to his feet. Mike handed him his Samuraizer back after finding it on the ground, "Thanks. How did you know I was out here?"

"You're not exactly the most subtle Samurai," Emily giggled, "You all but slammed our door when you walked out."

"Then we heard you from inside," Mia nodded, "We saw you with Dekker and went to get the others."

"The rest is history," Mike smiled, "But seriously dude, what did Dekker say to you. He must have said something."

"He just… he didn't want to fight tonight. He was observing us. Like I said, nothing you guys didn't already find out."

"Are you sure?" Jayden pressed, "Any information, anything at all, might prove helpful to us."

"Did he tell you why he was observing us?" Mia asked.

Kevin shrugged as he thought back to his conversation, "I… he mentioned knowing we were dating. He said he could use that to his advantage."

"How did he find that out?" Mia asked in a worried tone.

"It's easy to spot when you guys are always in bed together," Emily giggled.

"Dude, again?" Mike smirked knowingly at Kevin and Mia. He knew Kevin hadn't been in bed when he went, but he figured the blue and pink were still going in their marathon. Apparently the blue Ranger had spent most of the night.

"Why would he use our relationship to his advantage, though?" Mia asked Kevin before turning to Jayden, "What do we have to do with your duel?"

"I don't know," Jayden shook his head, "But from now on we stick together. If one of us goes somewhere, someone else goes with them. No one is left alone, is that clear?"

"Crystal," the others nodded before Jayden lead them back inside. Kevin stayed behind and turned to where Dekker had disappeared. The man was creepy and seemed to know a lot about him and the Rangers already. He was also dangerous. He bragged about his skills, and given the way he fought against Jayden and the Nighlok the last time Kevin had seen him, he knew he wasn't exaggerating.

His words also bothered Kevin. He knew about him and Mia and he had basically warned Jayden to keep an eye on the rest of the team.

"Kevin, are you coming?" Mia called and Kevin turned to look at her. She walked back over to him and took his hand gently. "Are you hiding something? Did he hurt you? Did he say something to you?"

Kevin shook his head, "No. He just creeps me out. I found him outside your bedroom window."

"He creeps all of us out," Mia agreed, "But we'll stick together. He might be tough, but there's no way he can take out two or more of us when we're together."

"Make sure you stick with someone all the time," Kevin warned her, "someone who can protect you. I don't want him thinking he can go after you."

"He wouldn't dare; not when I have you," Mia smiled, "Let's go inside before he comes back."


	46. Protecting Loved Ones

"OW! Emily! Stop it!"

"Take it back!"

"OW! It was funny! OW! Stop!"

"Not until you apologize!"

"OW! Okay, okay! I'm sorry! OW!"

Satisfied, Emily lowered her training sword and grinned at Mike as he rubbed his future bruises. That was the last time he tried to make fun of her fear of dinosaurs when she had a weapon in her hands. He had only meant it as a joke and as a way to get her to give her lesson her all, but apparently dinosaurs were no joking matter with Emily.

"Someone should let Master Xandred know not to send out a dinosaur looking Nighlok," Kevin chuckled from the sidelines. "Not if he doesn't want to suffer the wrath of the angry yellow Ranger."

"Or we'll turn that Dekker guy into a dinosaur," Jayden chuckled as he glanced at Emily, "If that happens, you can gladly take my place in the duel."

"You guys aren't funny," Emily pouted as she grabbed her water bottle. "I don't make fun of your fears."

"Sorry, Emy," Mia smiled, "You know we don't mean it."

"I know, but it's still not funny," she took a seat beside Kevin while glaring at Mike for spilling her secret to the rest of her friends. She wasn't actually mad – she couldn't really be mad after beating him up anyways – but she was warning him not to do it again.

"At least you won the session," Mike chuckled and shrugged. He looked at Mia, "It seems today is a girl's day. It didn't take you long to kick Kevin's ass."

"To be fair, I didn't get much sleep last night," Kevin frowned as he rubbed his neck, "That Dekker guy just freaks me out, especially what he said before he left."

"We're not exactly dealing with nice guys," Mike said casually, "I mean, he freaks me out too, but he's not the first, and I doubt he's the last."

"Kevin, if anyone should be worried here, it's me," Jayden said hoping it would ease his friend's worries. "Dekker seems to want me, and only me. If's he going to hurt anyone, it'll be me."

"But he wants to fight you at your best," Mia reminded Jayden, "He wants a challenge, he told you that last night. He wouldn't hurt you."

"That's true," Mike nodded, "He defended you against that Nighlok, Jay, remember? I don't think he's going to hurt you until the duel."

"That's exactly my point," Kevin sighed, "He wants you, Jayden, but how is he going to get to you? How is he going to get you to really fight?"

"He's not going to hurt you," Jayden assured the blue Ranger, "I won't let him. A fair fight doesn't involve any of you. He should know that."

"Still," Kevin placed his water bottle back on the bench and looked at Mike, "Mind a little one-on-one? Apparently we need some more practice if we're losing to the girls."

"Hey!"

"We take that as an insult," Mia said and Emily pouted. Kevin chuckled.

"Sorry, you know what I mean."

Emily saw Mike was laughing as well and smacked him with her sword.

"OW!"

"Remember that."

"Sorry," Mike rubbed his arm and Emily glared at him as she, Jayden and Mia went inside to get started on some lunch. Mike picked up his sword and looked at Kevin.

"It's been a while since we've trained together," he commented. Kevin shrugged his shoulders before swinging at Mike.

"I just thought you might want the extra practice."

"Dude, I'm comfortable with losing to a girl," Mike chuckled, "If you have an issue…"

"I just meant now that Dekker's become an even bigger threat," Kevin explained, "I know things between you and Emily are complicated, but if you're still serious about protecting her, you're going to want to be at your best."

"Of course I'm still serious," Mike nodded before he was hit in the ribs. He groaned, "Dude, that hurt. Go a little easier; Mia's not exactly defenceless without you."

"Sorry."

Mike gripped his sword, "Are you worried something will happen to her?"

Kevin shrugged, "I don't know how long Dekker was outside for, but he was looking in the girls' windows. That scares me. I don't want anything to happen to her."

"I know how you feel," Mike nodded.

"That's why I asked you to train," Kevin said, "Nothing's going to happen to Jayden, and he's the only one lucky enough to not fall in love."

"You make love sound like a bad thing," Mike frowned, "If you haven't noticed, we're all stronger when we fight for the person we love."

"Yeah, I know… but if Dekker's going after anyone, it's going to be us. He won't hurt Jayden until the duel, but that leaves us wide open to whatever crazy plans he has, and in case you failed math, there's a fifty percent chance he goes after the girls."

"Higher if you think he was creeping in their window for a reason," Mike nodded before hitting Kevin in the arm. "So we're out here training so we can protect them?"

"Yes," Kevin nodded and hit Mike in the head. The green Ranger frowned.

"Well, dude, unless you want to do all the protecting, I suggest you stop trying to knock me into a coma."

"Sorry. Next hit wins."

"Deal… OW!"

-Samurai-

Emily sat on her stool and watched Jayden, making him a little bit uncomfortable as they ate their food. He glanced up at her and then turned to Mia, who was distracted by the TV. She had turned it to a reality TV show about brides before their wedding and nothing could snap her out of her trance at this point.

He looked back at Emily. She was still staring at him. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"Is there something on my face?" he asked. Emily shook her head.

"I was just thinking."

"Can you think in another direction?" Jayden asked, "You're kinda freaking me out."

"Aren't you worried about Dekker?"

"Why should I be worried?" Jayden frowned. "I mean, I'm no more worried than I usually am when we face Master Xandred's monsters."

"But Dekker wants you."

"Master Xandred wants me."

"Yeah, but Dekker's creepy."

"You weren't there when Master Xandred's voice broke through to our world," Jayden smirked. "That was creepy."

"But aren't you scared?"

"You ask a lot of questions," Jayden smirked. Emily put down her plate.

"You don't have a lot of answers."

Jayden shrugged, "I guess he does freak me out, but I can control what worries me."

"You can?"

"Your safety is the most important thing to me," Jayden nodded, "I want you and the others to be able to go back home to your families, no matter the cost to me. If Dekker tried to go after any of you, he's got another thing coming. I'm not letting him hurt you."

"But… that's what he wants."

Jayden frowned, "What?"

"Well, the reason I broke up with Mike before was because I was scared someone was going to hurt him to get to me, or I would be the reason he… left. He was always talking about protecting me and you told me the reason we broke away from our families was to keep them from getting hurt as a way of getting to us… well, that's what Dekker's doing. You're not going to let anything happen to us. You're going to do anything you can to keep us from getting hurt. Doesn't that mean giving everything you've got against Dekker?"

Jayden nodded his head, "I guess so."

"Just, don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"I won't, Em, promise."

"Good," Emily smiled. She reached for her plate again and grabbed a piece of sushi, "Want to see something even more dangerous that Master Xandred?"

"You with a sword after the mention of a dinosaur?" Jayden chuckled before Emily tossed the sushi at his face, "Hey! Sorry."

Emily picked up another piece of sushi and aimed it at the TV. It hit the bottom of the television and Emily's aim was perfect for it to hit the power button and turn the TV off. Jayden chuckled as Mia turned to him and Emily with a deadly look in her eye.

"Who the hell…?"

Emily was quick to point to Jayden, "He said this was vomit-inducing and it's pathetic to dream about having the perfect wedding."

"What?" Jayden gasped and he turned to Emily. She gave him an innocent look and then turned to Mia.

"He said people who watch shows like that are hopeless dreamers."

"You better run, Flame-Boy."

Jayden did as he was told knowing he wouldn't be able to convince Mia that Emily had set him up. He could barely believe it himself. He ran all around the house, hoping Mia would tire out before he did.

Emily grinned and kicked her feet up.

"I think I like this family," she watched as Jayden rushed back into the room and leaped over the table with Mia right on his tail. Emily chuckled, "They're entertaining."

"You suck!" she heard Jayden cry from somewhere in the house.


	47. Dekker Watches

He watched them, just as he had always been watching them. Every battle; every outing. He knew where they lived; he knew who their families were. He knew their friends, their weaknesses and he knew who they loved.

But he didn't care about them. He wanted the red Ranger. Urumasa hadn't faced a worthy opponent in centuries. Now, the sword was finally going to get the chance to taste the blood of a true warrior.

But Dekker didn't want just blood. He wanted more. He wanted a real fight. A true fight to the death. He wanted his opponent to fight with passion and strength. It had been a long, long time since he had ever seen or felt such a strong bond between humans; he wanted to know what it was like. He wanted to know just how far friendship, family and love could push a human. He wanted to see for himself just how powerful a man could be when he was fighting for something he cared for.

So he watched the Rangers, particularly his opponent's friends. He knew they were the key to his great battle. He just needed to figure out how to use them.

-Samurai-

A lot of unusual things had happened in his house now that Mentor was responsible for five young Rangers. He had to replace several pillows after pillow fights; he had to clean up constantly after the Rangers when they left a mess. He had tripped over magazines, pencils, books, video game controllers and the odd squeaky toy. He also had to rescue one of his Rangers from a tree after a training session gone wrong.

But he had never seen this before.

"I swear it wasn't me!" Jayden cried. He was backed into a corner by Mia and seemed to be cowering away from her, as if he couldn't easily defend himself. Jayden pointed to the other side of the room, where Emily was watching the scene unfold and happily finishing her lunch, "It was her! It was Emily."

Mia turned to Emily who quickly shot her older sister figure an innocent look. It was too early for the truth to come out.

"Yeah," Mia looked back at Jayden and shook her head, "like I'll believe that."

"It's true!"

Before Mia could do anything to Jayden, Mentor stepped forward and cleared his throat. The three Rangers turned and looked at him.

"Hi Mentor," Emily grinned.

"You three are not training with Kevin and Mike?" Mentor asked the trio.

"We've finished training for today," Mia nodded as she stepped away from Jayden so he could feel safe getting up. "They just want a little extra training time."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the stranger from last night, would it?" Mentor asked and the trio exchanged looks. None of them had told Mentor about Dekker. They hadn't thought about it. Then again, it wasn't like any of the Samurai had been very subtle. They had stormed outside when they saw Kevin with Dekker and they hadn't re-entered the house in complete silence.

"Do you know who he was?" Emily asked her Mentor after he brought up the subject. No one else knew much about him except that he wanted to duel with Jayden. Mentor shook his head and sighed.

"I'm afraid not," he answered, "The Samurai Warriors have only ever been opposed by Master Xandred. There has never been a mention of another enemy."

"He wants Jayden," Mia said, "He wants a duel with the red Ranger."

"I'm afraid I still don't have answers for you," Mentor breathed.

Jayden looked at the girls, "It doesn't matter who he is. He's not going to defeat us."

"It's not us he wants," Emily reminded Jayden, "It's you."

"But he's not going to get you," Mia assured Jayden, "If we stick together, Dekker can't hurt any of us."

"Might I suggest a little more time training then?" Mentor said as he looked at the three Rangers, "If you don't know exactly what you're up against, it can't hurt to be prepared for anything."

"Maybe Mentor's right," Mia turned to Jayden and Emily, "A little extra training never hurt anyone."

"She's obviously never been hit by the training swords," Emily muttered to Jayden, "I still have bruises from the last time we did some extra training."

Jayden chuckled and wrapped his arm around Emily, "And after than little prank you pulled on me, you're about to get more."

"Not fair!" Emily whined.

-Samurai-

For Samurai, they weren't very aware of their surroundings. That or they were too engrossed in trying to reach his level that they were too busy to notice his presence. Dekker had been watching them train. First the blue and green Rangers and now all the Rangers were out in the field. Yellow and Pink had walked out from the house along with Red – his opponent – the only Ranger who could really give him the fight of his life.

But as he watched them train his eyes strayed to the others. He noticed they were different from the red Ranger. He knew they came from different backgrounds. Wind, Fire, Water, Earth and Forest, but that wasn't the difference between them. That wasn't what he was seeing.

Green was different. With a sword his style was a little unorthodox. It was much different from his opponent's, the blue Ranger, who fought to win. Of course, Dekker had watched them many times and he had noticed that the green Ranger fought defensively, especially in the presence of the yellow Ranger.

He could also overhear the blue Ranger giving Green pointers, as if trying to help the green Ranger improve. Whenever Blue would offer his advice, though, the green Ranger would laugh and try to do things on his own. Most of the time it cost him, however, on some occasions, the green Ranger's ways seemed to work in his favour. It would have been interesting to fight Green, but he wasn't strong enough. He could easily be beaten.

Blue was also different. Dekker had known that for a while. He had seen the fight between Blue and Red, and while it was obvious Red was a stronger, better opponent, Blue wasn't too far behind his Samurai leader. However, Blue was too eager to win. He wanted too much to be the best. He hadn't yet learned that the journey of a Samurai wasn't a competition.

Blue was also different in another way. Dekker had seen it with his own eyes. He still wasn't completely independent of his Samuraizer, but he was no longer totally dependent of it. He could use his symbol without help from the small device the Samurai always carried around. This put him on a whole new level in Dekker's eyes, but until he learned to master his power without the Samuraizer, he still wasn't a worthy opponent.

And Dekker knew Blue wasn't the only one to have found these skills. He could sense it. There was one more. He hoped it was Red.

He watched Pink and Yellow as they trained together. He knew this was unusual as of late, but he understood it was important to face as many different opponents as possible to practice many different techniques. Mixing up training partners was an easy way of developing this skill.

His eyes fell on Pink and he watched as she struggled to strike Yellow. He grinned and chuckled. He could already tell this was going to be Pink's downfall. She was too caring. She hated to cause pain, especially to the people she cared about. Whenever she would strike Yellow she would always pause for a moment and wait for the smaller girl to recover before beginning the fight again.

But Dekker wasn't stupid. He knew Pink would never hold back against him. He knew he was the enemy and she had been trained to destroy anyone who opposed her or her allies. Pink, while gentle, could also be one of the most dangerous opponents he ever faced, but she was far from reaching that top spot.

He stepped forward slightly to get a better look at the yellow Ranger. She was smaller than the others and a little harder to read. When Dekker watched his opponents fight, he liked to see their faces. He loved reading their expressions and learning what gave them power in a fight. Unfortunately, Yellow was too small to see from his spot.

But as he stepped forward he felt his foot sinking into the ground. As he placed more weight on his foot, hoping it was just a little dip in the earth, he realised this dip continued down. He knelt down and brushed away the leaves. To his surprise, there was a long tunnel into the earth. A smirk crossed his lips. He had heard that those trained in the way of the Earth sometimes built underground caves. With any luck, this was one of them, and it was right next to the Ranger's home.


	48. Down the Rabbit Hole

Mike laid on his back in pain as he covered his ribs with his arms. Kevin was looking down at him with an apologetic face. He held his hand out.

"Sorry, Mike, I didn't mean to hit you that time," he apologised as he helped the green Ranger to his feet. Emily was already waiting with frozen peas for Mike as he walked to the bench and took a seat. That was going to mark the end of training for him.

"I think we've trained long enough," Jayden announced as he looked up at the darkening sky. They had been out in the yard all day training and even Jayden was getting a little tired of practice. As it stood, he didn't want to see another sword for the rest of his life.

"I'm pooped," Emily nodded as she let herself fall to the ground; anything to get off her feet.

"You all did well," Jayden smiled, "I've never seen you guys work that hard."

"It's a lot more motivating when you know there's an evil creeper who has access to you or your friends 24/7," Kevin nodded. "Even after today, I still don't feel like this is enough."

"He can't be that tough," Mike said as he held the peas to his ribs. "I mean half the fear probably comes from the fact that we have no idea who this guy is or what he's really capable of. And if you think about it, the one time we saw him fight… so what if it was against both Jayden and a Nighlok? They were both already tired out. What does that really mean?"

"Don't underestimate your opponent, Mike," Kevin reminded him. "I mean, yes, Jayden and the Nighlok weren't at the top of their game, but didn't you see the way Dekker sliced that boulder? It was a clean and easy cut straight through. I imagine you don't want to be hit by the sword that can slice through a rock."

"Well, it's not like we want to be hit by swords anyways," Mike shrugged. "I don't know about you guys, but when my father told me I was going to be a Samurai, he also told me _not_ to get hit. As long as your opponent doesn't touch you, he can't hurt you."

"That would sound like a good idea," Emily frowned, "but you obviously don't know how not to get hit," she teased Mike by poking him in his sides. He hissed in pain and glared at her. She smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders innocently.

"We'll be ready for him, next time he turns up," Jayden nodded his head, "Just remember, he isn't like the other monsters we face."

The rangers agreed until they heard a low rumbling sound. They all turned with a laugh and looked at Mike.

"Are you hungry?" Mia chuckled as Mike rubbed his stomach, the source of the rumbling. Mike nodded.

"I haven't eaten in hours! I'm starved."

"Dinner and bed," Kevin agreed, "After today, I think we could all use a little rest."

The Rangers headed inside, grabbed some leftovers from the fridge and ate quickly as fatigue really started to kick in. They knew they would all be sore in the morning, as they usually were after long workouts, but they were starting to feel a lot more powerful.

-Samurai-

It didn't take long for Dekker to turn the cave into his home. There was already a chair-like rock coming from one of the walls. With a little work he managed to turn it into a semi-comfortable sleeping space. He didn't need much down in this cave. Just a home where he could stay out of sight from the Rangers and a place to stay warm and dry, without the risk of being seen (not that he really minded if anyone saw him).

As he sat on his makeshift bed he thought back to what he had observed during the Ranger's training. They were all strong warriors and they all had potential. If he could, he would challenge them all. But he only wanted one. He only wanted Red.

Then again, he knew there was a way he could profit from all the Rangers. They had different talents. They possessed some skills that none of the others possessed, particularly two of the Rangers. Blue and one other Ranger could use their symbol power without the Samuraizer. If they could do that, maybe he could learn to use Symbol Power as well. Maybe one of them could teach him.

But first, he had to figure out who else had that other power. He could feel it. He knew it was one of them.

-Samurai-

Mia could feel the extra weight crawling up her bed and she wondered if anyone else had to deal with anything similar to this during the night. Jayden definitely didn't. He slept on his own, and it was highly unlikely that Mentor would interrupt his sleep. It was possible Kevin had to deal with Mike waking him up in the middle of the night, but the green Ranger usually loved his sleep and never seemed to have any problems falling or staying asleep. Kevin also didn't seem like the type of guy who would try to wake someone else up if he was having trouble sleeping or if something worried him in the night.

Mia decided it was just her who had this problem as she rolled over and opened her eyes. Emily was sitting beside her in bed.

"What are you doing?" Mia asked the young girl. Emily pointed to the window.

"I can't sleep. There's something out there."

"Yes, the moon and a lot of sleeping people and animals," Mia nodded. "Go back to bed."

"Mia," Emily whispered as Mia pulled the blankets over her head. She knew the pink Ranger was grumpy when she was woken up, but Emily couldn't ignore the feeling she was getting. She was feeling disturbed and she knew it was coming from outside. She had already checked out the window to see if she could see anyone, specifically Dekker, creeping around the house, but the space around the house was completely vacant save for the few trees in the distance that marked the start of the forest.

"Emy, close the blinds if you're freaked."

"You suck," Emily whined as she got off Mia's bed to let the pink Ranger sleep, but she wasn't going to forget about the feeling she had. She and Kevin both learned from the Ninjas that they were connected to their elements in a special way and that it was important to pay attention to what the elements were trying to say.

She snuck out of her room, careful not to reawaken her older sister and tip-toed to Mike and Kevin's room. She knew she could count on Mike to listen to her. He always did no matter how crazy her thoughts, ideas and feelings were. It was something she loved about him.

Just as she was about to reach the boys' door, it opened. Emily jumped with a start and covered her mouth to keep herself from screaming and waking up the rest of the house. She heard Kevin chuckling.

"Please tell me you're on the way to the kitchen and this isn't you and Mike trying to pull a fast one."

She punched her older brother in the chest, "You scared me!"

"You shouldn't be up this late at night," even in the dark she knew Kevin was giving her a look. She bit her lip.

"There's something outside."

"You're paranoid too?" Kevin sighed. Emily shook her head. This wasn't paranoia; this was real.

"I can feel it."

"You're probably just a little freaked after what happened last night," Kevin reassured her, "I know I am. I was just coming to see if Mia wanted to do a walk around the house with me."

"You were going to wake Mia up?" Emily frowned. "Have you ever woken a sleeping Mia? She's not the most social creature. Trust me, I've tried."

"Maybe you're right," Kevin chuckled. He remembered when he and Mia couldn't sleep and he caught her pretending to suffocate a sleeping Emily. It had been a funny sight, but he didn't want to be on the underside of that pillow. "How about we do the walk instead, then. Jayden wants us to stay in groups just in case Dekker does come back."

"You mean go out there?" Emily's voice cracked. She didn't want to go outside in the dark, even with a buddy. Her nerves were already wracked.

"C'mon, I doubt Dekker strikes twice in a row."

"You're just asking for it now," Emily frowned. "What else are you going to say that's going to make it a sure thing?"

"Emily," Kevin chuckled as he grabbed a flashlight and guided her to the door, "nothing's going to happen."

"We're doomed."

"We're not doomed."

Emily shook her head, "Just shut up. If anything happens, I blame you."

The two Rangers stepped outside and stuck close together as Kevin waved the light around. If anything was going to happen, which Kevin doubted, they needed to stay in their little group. Kevin walked confidently. He was only walking around the house because of what happened the night before. He knew if Dekker was going to come back, he would wait a few days before he did. It was always how the bad guys worked.

"Stop that," Emily growled as she tugged on his arm. He looked down at her.

"Stop what?"

"That smirk. It's annoying."

"Em, there's nothing out here, listen," the two were silent as they listened to the night. The crickets were chirping, but aside from that the outdoors was completely hushed.

Emily shook her head, "I still have a weird feeling."

"I don't have one," Kevin shrugged. Emily glared at him.

"To be fair, there is no water for you to feel connected to right now," she moved away from Kevin and walked into the middle of the yard. She knelt down and lifted a plank of wood. Mentor had placed it there after the Pai Zhuq and the Ninjas were gone. When Dustin created the underground cave for Emily, he had left a hole in the middle of the yard, one big enough for someone to fall in. To keep his Rangers safe, Mentor covered it with a plank of wood, but he didn't close it up completely. Emily had begged him not to. She liked the idea of having an underground cave.

"That's your secret fort, isn't it?" Kevin asked his little sister as he walked up behind her. He placed his hand on her back, "If a tornado touches down, I know where I'm hiding."

"Behind your girlfriend the Wind Samurai, maybe?" Emily chuckled as she opened the entrance to her cave. The exit was somewhere on the other side of the house. Dustin had told her the many reasons on why their needed to be two exits. Emergencies, flooding, cave-ins, and sometimes people followed you down the hole and you needed to make sure you could get out.

"Are you going in there?" Kevin asked as Emily started to lower herself down the hole. He grabbed her arm, "Em, wait."

"What?"

Now Kevin was the one with the bad feeling, "You can't go down there. What if something got in there?"

"Like a rabbit?" Emily chuckled. Kevin shook his head.

"No, I… never mind. I'm coming with you," he said. He turned off his flashlight and tucked it in his pants before he started to climb in after Emily.

"Fine, but don't slip. If you fall I'm the only thing you can land on and you're not exactly tiny and light."

"I'll be careful."

"You want us to die, don't you?" Emily muttered and just as her feet hit the ground she felt someone grab her and cover her mouth before she could scream. Her heart raced and in her panic she struggled to break free but her captor had a strong hold. She tried to bite his hand, like she used to do when she and her sister were playing around when she was a kid, but he didn't flinch or remove his hand from her mouth.

Her captor smirked as he held her. He could feel the same energy as before. She was different from the others. Different in the same way the blue Ranger was different.

Kevin felt the ground under his feet and hopped off the ladder with a smile until he turned around and realised the cave was very dark. He started to wonder what exactly Emily was thinking coming down here in the middle of the night.

"Emily, I can't see a thing," he called to her as he waved his arms around to try and feel her, "Where are you?"

He then remembered he still had his flashlight with him. He grabbed it and turned it on, relieved he could see.

"There we go," he smiled to himself and looked around, "Wow, Em, this fort is pretty cool. All Tori taught me how to do was shoot Mike with little blasts of water. Though I will admit, that does come in handy. It shuts up his snoring on some nights."

He stepped further into the cave and looked around, "Hey, Em, I just had a fun idea. You know when it starts raining and we're already outside training? What if we came down here instead of trained inside. You know, because things are a little less…"

Kevin trailed off when his light hit Emily and he saw she was being held tightly by Dekker, the man he loathed deeply.

"You don't shut up, do you?" Dekker said.

Kevin reached for his Samuraizer, "That's a big rabbit…"


	49. Dekker's Search for A Teacher

As Kevin reached for his Samuraizer, Dekker laughed.

"Drop it, boy," he said, "We both know you don't need it."

"Let her go, Dekker," Kevin growled as he moved his hands away from his Samuraizer. He wasn't going to do anything that would land him or Emily in any trouble because right now there was nowhere to run.

"Before I do that, I would like to ask a favour," Dekker said. Kevin gritted his teeth. The more time he spent with Dekker the more his hatred grew. The creep wanted a duel with Jayden, threatened his girlfriend and was now holding his friend against her will and he had the nerve to ask him for a favour.

"Why would I…" Kevin stopped when Dekker gestured to Emily and he realised he wasn't in a position to argue. He growled, "Let her go."

"One of you must train me," Dekker demanded.

"What? You want us?"

"It's been a while since I've learned a new power," Dekker nodded his head. "It would be interesting to learn the Symbol Power. I know you don't need a stupid little toy to create symbols."

"What makes you think either of us could teach you anything?" Kevin frowned, "If I remember correctly, you told me we weren't skilled enough for you. What could you possibly learn from us?"

"I doubt you would defeat me in a duel," Dekker agreed with Kevin on that part, "however I do believe I can learn a little something even from those who are beneath me. I only need one of you to teach me."

"Let her go, I'll do it," Kevin told him but Dekker shook his head.

"Not so fast. How do I know you're the best teacher? I've seen you all fight before. I know that while Yellow may be young she fights with heart. You know about the heart, do you not, Blue?"

"Of course I know about the heart," Kevin nodded.

"It continues to beat until the day it dies. It never stops; it never takes breaks, no matter how much pain the body may be in. That's how I want to be taught."

Kevin clenched his fist and his muscles stiffened. There was no way he was leaving Emily down here with Dekker, not for a second.

"It's not worth it," he tried to sound convincing. He would say anything to get Dekker to choose him as a teacher. Not only would that ensure Emily could get away, but that also meant Kevin could keep his eye on him. After all, they always said _"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer"_. If he was constantly by Dekker's side he would know his friends, especially Mia, were safe.

"Why's that?" Dekker asked. "Why would you make a better teacher?"

Kevin shrugged, "She's not really a Samurai. She wasn't supposed to be, anyways. She's only got a few years of training under her belt. She's just a replacement."

"She's much more than that if she's part of the team," Dekker pointed out. Kevin shook his head.

"What can I say?" he said, "our Megazord kinda needs a left arm; her family had the Ape Zord."

"I know of her sister," Dekker said and Emily renewed her struggled to break free, "I know she was destined to be the yellow Ranger until she got sick."

"How do you…?" Kevin muttered before he shook his head. That wasn't important. "Look, she's our friend. We don't want her to get hurt. But she's worthless as a Ranger. She would never be able to teach you anything. She's small, she's weak… it's pathetic. I've been training my entire life. Let her go and I'll stay with you."

"If that's what you want," Dekker let go of Emily and she dropped to the ground. Dekker looked up at Kevin, "Drop the Samuraizer and forget the girl. We're leaving."

"Kevin…" Emily coughed.

"I'm sorry for what I said, Emily," Kevin knelt down in front of her and handed her his Samuraizer. "Tell Mia I'll be back s… HEY!"

"If she is worthless you'll leave her," Dekker glared at Kevin after hitting Emily in the head with the hilt of his sword and Emily slumped forward. Kevin jumped to his feet.

"I also said we didn't want to see her get hurt."

"She's not hurt," Dekker shrugged, "She's sleeping."

"What?" Kevin furrowed his brow and shook his head, "You're mad."

"I also have much to learn," Dekker nodded. He grabbed Kevin's arm and pulled him to the exit, "Come with me."

-Samurai-

"He's not outside," Mia frowned as she glanced out the window. Mike shrugged his shoulders.

"What about Emily?"

"To be fair, Emily could have been swallowed by her bed," Mia answered him. "But no, she's not out here either."

"That's weird," Mike furrowed his brow and looked around. Both he and Mia had woken up without their roommates. At first they hadn't thought it was odd. They were normally the last two Rangers to be awake and on most mornings they would wake up alone in their bedrooms. However, there had been no sign of the blue or yellow Rangers anywhere in the house or outside training.

"Do you think maybe they're with Jayden?" Mia suggested to Mike, "I mean, Emily sounded a little worried last night. She may have gone to talk to him. Same with Kevin."

"Maybe," Mike nodded. It was worth a shot.

He and Mia made their way to Jayden's bedroom and knocked before they were called in. Jayden pulled his shirt over his head and looked their way.

"I figured we could take it a little easy today," he smiled at his friends, "After yesterday's workout our bodies could use some relaxation. We'll train later tonight instead of this morning."

"Cool," Mike nodded. He looked around the room, "Dude, you're not hiding two Rangers in here, are you? One of them is tall, dark, and sometimes a stick in the mud. He likes to pick on me."

"And the other bounces," Mia chuckled, "Just bounces."

"Have you lost your roommates?" Jayden frowned.

"They aren't in the house," Mia explained, "We can't see them outside either. And they didn't leave a note saying they went out or anything. I'm a little worried."

"The house is rather quiet," Jayden commented. He led the way out of his room, "We'll check the yard again before seeing if their Samuraizers can give us their location."

He took his friends outside and looked around the training yard. The swords were still sitting where they always were when they weren't in use, the towels were still folded and the mat looked like it hadn't been touched since the day before. There were no shoe prints on it either.

"That's a little weird," Jayden frowned as he regrouped with the other two, "Any sign of… anything?"

Mike and Mia shook their heads until suddenly Mike grabbed Mia's arm and pointed to the middle of the yard.

"Dude, zombie!"

"What?" Mia frowned as she turned to see what Mike was pointing at, "You've see way too many… Emily!"

The three rushed to the middle of the yard when they saw Emily trying to climb out from the underground. Jayden and Mike grabbed her arms and pulled her out from the tunnel before setting her down.

"Why were you sleeping in there?" Mike chuckled as he helped dust the dirt and mud off her. "Isn't that taking the Earth Samurai thing a little too far?"

"It wasn't exactly by choice," Emily coughed. She loved the dirt as much as the next country girl, but she would never recommend sleeping in it for a night.

"Did Alice fall down the rabbit hole?" Mike smirked.

"Mentor should have done a better job hiding that tunnel," Jayden shook his head, "I know it's a fort, Em, but if you're going to be falling down it all the time…"

"It was Dekker," Emily interrupted as she pulled out Kevin's Samuraizer. She gave it to Mia, "He was down there."

"Dekker was…" Mia turned away from Emily and looked at the hole, "Where's Kevin then?"

"I don't know," Emily shrugged, "He left with Dekker. Dekker wanted someone to teach him."

"What?" Mike frowned, "Em, are you sure you didn't hit your head in Wonderland or something? First of all, Dekker's ego is too big to fit through that hole. Second…"

"He was down there!" Emily cried, frustrated her friends weren't getting the picture, "Kevin and I went for a walk around the house! I went down there, Kevin followed and Dekker grabbed me! He told us he knew we didn't need the Samuraizers and he thinks Kevin can teach him how to use Symbol Power."

"That's impossible," Jayden shook his head, "The symbol power is a family thing. He can't learn it."

"He wants to try, though," Emily said.

"If Dekker grabbed you, though then why did he leave with Kevin?" Mike asked. He looked at Emily, "Not that I'm complaining, but…"

Emily lowered her head and remembered how Kevin convinced Dekker to let her go. She knew he didn't believe his own words and he had probably just said it to get Dekker to let her go, but it still hadn't been easy to hear, especially when she was still struggling with some of her issues. It was hard to be reminded that she wasn't anything special.

Mike could tell from the look on her face that something had upset her. He knelt down beside her and took her hand.

Mia was staring at Kevin's Samuraizer. She was still trying to figure out exactly what had happened. Why did Kevin go outside in the first place? Why did he go down the hole? Why did he leave with Dekker? Why did it sound like he left willingly?

She felt Jayden placing a hand on her shoulder, "We'll find him."

"I remember he said he would be back," Emily looked up at Mia and Jayden, "Before Kevin left or I blacked out or something… he told me he would be back. I don't think Dekker plans on keeping him for long. He just wants to learn."

"This guy drives me crazy," Jayden growled. Mia could feel his grip tightening on her shoulder. She turned to him.

"He wouldn't hurt Kevin, would he?"

Jayden relaxed his hand, "We won't let it come to that. We'll search everywhere for them."


	50. Dekker's Training

"There should be a clearing coming up," Mike announced as he led the team of Rangers through the forest. It was his element and he knew he wasn't going to get lost. The forest was so big and vast that one wrong turn could cause you to end up as prisoner of the trees. He turned back to the group, "If Dekker wants to train he might do so there."

"Or we'll hopefully find a clue if he's not there," Jayden nodded. He was holding Mia closely as they walked. She was visibly upset and worried for her boyfriend. Kevin was a powerful Samurai, they all knew that, but Dekker had proven himself to be a huge threat. One person alone would not be enough to hold him off if Dekker chose to go rogue. Right now she was hoping that Dekker would be kind and only wanted to learn from Kevin, though as it stood, her enemies weren't exactly known for their kindness.

Mike held a few branches out of their path as he led them into the clearing. To their dismay it was empty. No sign of human or Nighlok life anywhere.

"This is frustrating," Mia groaned. She found a rock and took a seat, "We could be out here for hours! What if we never find him?"

"We'll find him, Mia, don't worry," Mike tried to assure her.

Emily looked at her sister, feeling a little guilty. It had been her idea to go inside her cave – or her fort as her friends called it. If she hadn't of gone down she wouldn't have been taken by Dekker and he wouldn't have left with Kevin.

"If it helps," she said, "Dekker didn't sound like he wanted to hurt Kevin. He didn't sound like he wanted to hurt any of us. He had about ten minutes where he could have easily killed me if he wanted to."

"So he's an unpredictable psycho," Mia grumbled, "thanks, Emily. Now my boyfriend's lost with some insane whack job who loves to toy with his victims before he rips them apart!"

"Not my point…" Emily whispered as she shrank away from Mia. Mike wrapped his arms around her.

"It's not your fault," he said gently into her ear. He looked at Mia, "We're all worried, but Kevin can take care of himself. I mean, aside from Jayden, there's no one else who would have a better chance of escaping Dekker than Kevin."

Mia took a deep breath, "You're right. I'm sorry… I just… I wish I knew what happened."

Jayden nodded his head before he too took a seat. He looked at Emily.

"How about you tell us what happened again?" he said, "This time, don't leave anything out. I want to know everything. If Dekker looked at the ground for even a moment, I want you to tell me."

Emily nodded, "Well he grabbed me and at first I wasn't even sure if it was him…"

-Samurai-

Dekker led Kevin right back into the cave where they had first left Emily. As Kevin was lowered in, he couldn't help but wonder why they had travelled half a day just to come right back to where they had started. Still, he couldn't complain. At least he knew he was close to home, and given the fact that Emily was gone, he could only assume she had made it back to the others by now.

Dekker looked at him, "We're here because your friends won't ever think to look here," he answered Kevin's question before it was even asked.

"You're confident I'm not going to run?"

"Where will you run to?" Dekker asked him. "If you run to your friends, I follow you and you put them in danger. If you run away, thinking I will follow you, you leave your friends wide open. I could easily take them out, one by one, starting with the Pink…"

"I get it," Kevin interrupted with a growl.

Dekker gestured to the bed he had made from the earth chair. Kevin took a seat on the bed and looked at Dekker.

"I guess you want to start training A.S.A.P?"

"We will begin training later," Dekker shook his head. He took a seat on the ground, "Right now I have some questions."

"Fine, whatever," Kevin rolled his eyes. Dekker looked at him.

"Why do you protect your friends?" he asked. "Why do they protect you? What do they mean to you?"

"You answered your own question," Kevin said, "I protect them because they are my friends. They're important to me."

"But nothing is important to a dead man," Dekker pointed out and Kevin had to agree he had a point. "If I were to kill you now you would no longer feel the things you feel for your friends. Love, friendship… it would all be worth nothing. Wouldn't your own life be the most important thing to you mortals?"

Kevin shrugged his shoulders, "Hey, we've all got to die at some point. Why not make sure the one we cared for are safe?"

"You're dead. You don't care. If you were to die, and the next day a disaster struck, say a fire tore through your home. Would you care?"

"I'm dead," Kevin replied, "I don't need my home or my stuff anymore."

"So then why give yourself up to me instead of letting me take the yellow Ranger?" Dekker asked, "You don't know what I have planned for you once I'm done. If I chose to kill you, you wouldn't need love or friendship anymore. You're much better off letting her die. You could keep your other friends as well as the Pink Ranger and your life."

"You might never understand me or the other Rangers, Dekker," Kevin growled. "Stop trying."

"I only ask because it will help me when the time comes to duel the red Ranger. I want him at full strength and I want him to fight with all the power he has. I've noticed you Rangers only do so when one of you is in danger. I wanted to know why."

"I guess immortality is the leading cause of stupidity. You're probably the only living creature who doesn't understand love and friendship."

Dekker drew his sword and before Kevin could react he was standing in front of him with the edge of the blade touching Kevin's neck.

"When I ask a question I expect an answer," he growled, "I will make this simple for you, Fish-boy. We'll start with red. Why do you defend him?"

"He is my friend," Kevin answered, "He's my leader. I care for him and he's the only one with enough power to defeat Master Xandred. Without him, we're all dead, anyways."

Dekker nodded his head. That seemed like a valid answer. It made sense to want to preserve the life of another if death was the only other option. If Kevin had to put his life at risk to save Red's, there was a chance he could escape. But if he chose not to and Red died, Blue would die as well.

"And Green?" Dekker asked. "Why do anything for him? What does he mean to you?"

"He's like red. He's my friend," Kevin said, "I don't want to see him getting hurt. It's what friends do for each other. We have each other's backs. We protect each other. It's human nature."

"To an extent," Dekker nodded, "I doubt you would put your life in danger to save him if you knew it was impossible both of you made it out alive."

"He's a smart kid," Kevin said, "I don't think I'll need to run into a burning building anytime soon to save his ass. Although, given my element, I should be able to save both him and myself if that were to happen."

"So, if you're friend was already a lost cause, you would turn your back to him?" Dekker stroked his chin, "And yet, when it came to the yellow Ranger, you put yourself in danger for her knowing you might not make it out."

"She's like a little sister to me," Kevin explained. "I have to protect her. I have to look out for her; more so than the boys, that is. She's young, she's small, she's…"

"She's a child," Dekker nodded. "No one wants to see any harm come to a child."

"Exactly," Kevin nodded, "If I can save her, I will. Especially from creeps like you."

"What about the pink Ranger?" Dekker asked. He leaned in closer to Kevin, "What would you do for her?"

"She means more to me than life itself," Kevin looked Dekker straight in the eye as he said this, "I would rather die than let her suffer any kind of pain."

"Even though your death would bring her great pain?"

"Her friends will help her. She'll learn to live again without me. She'll find happiness again. She'll have choices, freedom. If you told me you would leave her alone and I knew you would stick to your word, I would gladly die right here, right now for her."

"You show no signs of fear when your little girlfriend is involved," Dekker noticed rather quickly how Kevin seemed much more courageous and fearless when the pink Ranger was added into the equation.

"I love her, Dekker. I would gladly die for her."

"Would she die for you?"

"We'll never find out," Kevin said. He stood up to Dekker, "Jayden may be the strongest Ranger, but if you do anything to hurt my friends, especially Mia, I'm going to make sure you live the rest of your immortal life suffering the worst kind of pain there is."

-Samurai-

Emily shook her head as she finished the story, trying to put the pieces together of the last few moments before she blacked out. Her memory was a little fuzzy, but her friends needed as much information as possible.

Mia couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was proud of her boyfriend for being so brave and protecting Emily, but she also thought this was one of the stupidest things he ever done. Leaving with Dekker was dangerous. The half-man-half-Nighlok couldn't be trusted. Kevin wasn't safe, not at all, and even if he had tried to tell Emily he would come back, there was no guarantee that Dekker would keep him alive once he was done with him. Mia knew it was very possible that she never saw him again.

"He called you worthless?" Mike asked as the story sank in. He was concerned about Kevin but his priority was Emily.

"I know he didn't mean it," Emily looked at Mike, "He was just saying that… he apologized and…"

"Still," Mike growled. Jayden placed his hand on Mike's shoulder.

"We know Emily's not worthless, pathetic or weak," he said, "Kevin may have saved her life by saying those things."

"He shouldn't be saying those at all!" Mike shook his head until a look from Emily reminded him that now wasn't exactly the time to focus on what Kevin has said. If Mike wanted to get mad, he was better off waiting until there was someone to be mad at. The green Ranger sighed and looked at Mia, "I'm sorry. I'm sure Kevin's got this figured out, though."

"I don't care if he does or not," Mia said, "I want him back."

"Should we continue to search?" Jayden suggested and the other nodded.

-Samurai-

"Maybe I should have gone with the yellow Ranger after all," Dekker growled as he lowered his hands back to his sides and turned to the blue Ranger, "You're a failure as a teacher, you do realise that?"

"Before you point the finger at me, need I remind you that you don't exactly belong to any elemental family? For all we know you could be Forest, Earth, Wind or Fire. I can only teach you what I know."

"Need I remind you that I'm in control here," Dekker growled. He held up his hand again, "Give me another symbol."

"Close your eyes," Kevin instructed as he took a deep breath. This was going to be a long night if Dekker insisted on doing the impossible. There were some things even the most powerful of beings couldn't do. Learning symbol power seemed to be one of them. "Take a deep breath. Focus on the power that comes from deep within. The power that's been with you since long before you ever picked up a sword or weapon."

"Get to the symbol already," Dekker growled impatiently. Kevin rolled his eyes and he was thankful that Dekker's were shut.

"Fine," he answered, "let's do something I did when I was a kid. A water pail. Trace the symbol for pail and feel the energy as it travels through you. Embrace it and let it take over you."

Dekker tried as hard as he could, but he couldn't feel anything. Frustration took over and in one swift move he pulled out Urumasa and swung it at Kevin. The blade stopped just short of Kevin's cheek.

"You are not the Ranger I need," he growled. "However, you have not failed me completely. Thanks to you, I now have a better idea of what my duel against the red Ranger will look like… and how I'm this much closer to turning him into my biggest challenge."

"What do you mean?" Kevin eyed the blade as he spoke to Dekker. His heart beat quickly. One move and his head could be cut clean off.

"You will do almost anything to protect your friends. I assume the red Ranger feels the same way."

"I…" Kevin looked at Dekker, "I'm not going to say anymore. Kill me, and you'll never find out."

"But I will," Kevin saw the blade moving and winced, thinking Dekker was about to kill him. He never felt the slice, or the blow, but he continued to feel his heart beating. He opened his eyes and Dekker was gone.

Thinking this was just a trick, Kevin looked around the cave. It was hard to see because it was an underground cave, but as far as he could tell Dekker was nowhere in sight. Kevin wasn't going to stick around any longer to find out if this was a trick or not. He needed to find his friends. It didn't sound like Dekker was done with any of them just yet.


	51. More to Learn

The sun was setting when the Rangers finally made their way out of the forest and they could see the Shiba house from where they were standing. Mike and Emily were close to passing out from exhaustion and Mia was clearly worrying herself sick over Kevin.

"We're almost home, guys," Jayden told the Rangers.

"It's too bad we didn't find Kevin," Mike muttered. He looked over his shoulder at Emily, "Keeping up okay?"

"Training all day yesterday, sleeping in the dirt and searching for Kevin all day today is definitely not healthy," Emily shook her head, "I just want to go to bed."

"We're almost home," Jayden repeated with a slight chuckle to lighten the mood. He turned to Mia, "We'll continue our search in the morning once we're rested. Even if we were to find Kevin now, we would be of no help to him."

"I know," Mia never looked up from the ground as she walked, "I'm just worried. I guess I will be until we find him."

"Mia!" the four heard a cry in the distance and they all looked up with wide eyes as they watched Kevin climbing out of Emily's underground cave.

"So, does that thing sprout Rangers or something? Are we getting a new one anytime soon?" Mike chuckled and nudged Emily as Kevin rushed over. Mia met him halfway and nearly knocked him over as she jumped in his arms relieved that he appeared to be unharmed.

She quickly pulled away from him though and punched his chest, "What the hell were you thinking? You had me worried sick!"

"Sorry, Mia," Kevin rubbed his chest with one hand while the other pulled her back in. He was so happy to see her. For a little while he was starting to think he never would. He held her tightly with one arm, bumped fists with Mike with the other and nodded to both Jayden and Emily.

"Glad to see you're okay, dude," Mike smiled.

"How did you escape?" Jayden asked, "Dekker doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would just let you walk off."

"Turns out, I'm not such a great teacher," Kevin said with a shrug, "Dekker wasn't learning anything from me, not that he could, I guess. The Symbol Power thing isn't for everyone."

"It's not," Jayden agreed.

"Don't you ever run off like that again," Mia glared up at her boyfriend, still unable to get over his sudden disappearance. Tears filled her eyes and Kevin knew she was hurting. He kissed her forehead.

"I won't leave you, I promise," he smiled. He kissed her again, this time on the lips, before looking over his shoulder where the Shiba house was calling to him. He was tired and wanted to feel the safety of his own bed once again, "Think we can head home, guys? I don't know about you but I'm wiped."

"We've searched this entire forest thinking Dekker would be hiding here," Mike nodded, "Of course we're wiped."

He took Emily's hand to walk back to the house but Kevin looked at Mike.

"Can I have a quick word with her, actually?" he asked. "I'll bring her right home, I promise."

Mike looked at Emily who nodded. He shrugged his shoulders and turned to Jayden.

"I guess it's just you and me," he said, assuming Mia wasn't about to leave Kevin's side. He was right. When he and Jayden made their way back home, she didn't follow. She clung onto Kevin, afraid that if she let go he would disappear again.

Emily looked up at Kevin, "What did you…?"

"About what I said to Dekker," Kevin started, "I didn't mean any of it. You know that, right?"

"That's what I thought," Emily nodded. "He believed you, though."

"That doesn't mean anything," Kevin smiled. "I just wanted to apologize again for what I said. I know it must have hurt."

"Don't worry about it. It's not like I haven't heard it all before. Usually it's the little voice in my head. Right now, though, I think I need to head back to bed. I don't know how you spent the night but I feel like I've been awake for days."

Kevin chuckled and nodded before letting her run home after the others. Mia leaned into him.

"She'll bounce back. She'll be fine," she said. "You're the one we're all worried about."

"I promise you, Mia, I'm okay," Kevin smiled down at her, "Dekker and I just talked and I tried to help him train. When he found out I was worthless he left."

"Worthless?" Mia furrowed her brows, "You're not worthless. He's just a bad student."

"You know what I mean," Kevin sighed. He glanced at the Shiba House, "Anyways, he's gone for now, but I don't think he's done with us just yet. He'll be back, really soon."

"What do you mean?" Mia asked.

"He seems determined to learn the Symbol Power… and he wants to learn more from us about Jayden," Kevin explained, "It's just a feeling I have, but I think he's going to try this again… only with someone else."

"You mean one of us?" Mia pointed to herself. Kevin shook his head. He wasn't going to let that happen.

"Not on my watch," he told her, "not you, at least."

"So, does that mean Mike and Emily?"

"I don't know," Kevin shrugged, "The man's a mystery, all right."

"A creepy mystery," Mia nodded in agreement before she rested her head on Kevin's shoulder, "I'm just glad you're not still with him."

"I would have done anything to come home to you, Mia," Kevin smiled. He held her as they started walking home.

-Samurai-

Dekker sat completely still on top of a tree just outside the Ranger's home. He watched them running inside; first green and red, then yellow, and finally blue and pink.

He was disappointed things didn't work with Blue. He wanted to learn the Symbol Power. He wanted to feel the rush of new power once again flowing through every part of his body. He liked to think of himself as the most powerful being on the planet, but even then there were things he knew he didn't know. Things he still needed to know. With every generation that passed, new powers would arise.

This generation could give him new powers.

He couldn't go after Blue again. Blue was worthless to him now. He had served his purpose. Dekker had a better understanding for why humans would foolishly put themselves in danger to save another and he had seen it in action a few times. Blue had even told him he would gladly die for the pink Ranger.

He wanted to see this for his own eyes when the Rangers truly were in great danger. He wanted to see if the Rangers words were actually true. If one of them would really give up everything just to save the life of their friend.

But he didn't know how he was going to do it. He didn't want his duel yet and if he struck again he was sure to face the red Ranger. He had taken Red's friend and Red had already shown him he was a protective man when it came to his friends. He needed the perfect Ranger as bait, the only Ranger none of the others ever wanted to see hurt. He also needed the perfect Ranger to test, one who would give up everything for the bait.

-Samurai-

When morning came Mia was the first to wake up and she smiled to herself. She was wrapped in Kevin's arms and he was still with her. Because of what had happened the day before, Jayden and Ji had made an exception to the sleeping arrangements and Kevin and Mia had been allowed to share a bed (as long as there was someone else in the room so no one got carried away). Mentor Ji allowed it for security reasons. If Dekker had just let Kevin walked off, it was possible he would come back. While Mike would have been able to watch over Kevin, by letting Mia share the same bed, he would be a lot more protected. Mia would be awakened a lot easier than Mike would if Dekker were to come back to finish what he had started.

Jayden's reasons were a little more empathetic. He had seen how worried Mia was, and he could understand why Kevin would want to keep her close after his day. He also knew that Mia and Kevin made each other stronger and after all the worry and fear they both needed strength.

Mike and Emily had no objections either. Mike didn't even make a comment about them sharing a bed, even when he learned they would both be sleeping in Kevin's bed with him in the room. He let it go this time, knowing it was something they needed to feel safe once again. He loved his friends and he wanted them to feel safe.

Mia snuggled in closer to Kevin and kissed his cheek as he opened his eyes. He looked down at her.

"You're normally not awake before me," he said.

Mia shrugged, "I didn't really sleep at all last night."

"Neither did I," Kevin admitted as he leaned over to kiss Mia. Suddenly a pillow was tossed at the two of them.

"I didn't get much sleep either, thank you very much," Mike grumbled from his bed, "I'm trying to catch up so please save whatever you were about to do for another time."

Kevin chuckled as he looked at Mia, "Maybe we should get up. I am a little hungry."

"Same here," Mia nodded. Kevin kissed her.

"How about we make pancakes?" he suggested. He loved cooking with her. It was something they both enjoyed doing and usually they were alone when they were in the kitchen.

"Sounds like a good idea," Mia smiled.

Mike pushed himself out of bed, "Well, who needs sleep when pancakes are being made. Chocolate chip pancakes, maybe?"

"Depends what we make," Kevin smirked.

He, Mia and Mike made their way to the kitchen. They were the first ones up and therefore decided they would make breakfast for the others as well as themselves.

Well, Mia and Kevin would make breakfast. Mike was falling asleep at the kitchen table.

"Why did he get out of bed to go back to sleep?" Mia asked Kevin as she mixed the pancake batter, just like Kevin had taught her. Kevin chuckled.

"He likes fresh pancakes," he answered with a shrug.

-Samurai-

As the day progressed, Dekker sat in his tree with his eyes still on the Samurai Rangers. He couldn't see them when they were inside the house, but thankfully they had come up just before midday for a little training. He had to admire their determination. They all looked worn and tired and they were still working hard to live up to their responsibilities.

He watched them, trying to find the perfect Ranger for his bait. Blue wouldn't do, nor would Red. Those were easy eliminations. He had to look at the other three.

Green and Yellow trained together. Dekker knew this was the usual combination and yet he had never really examined either of them closely when they were together. They were, in his eyes, the weakest of the group when it came to strength and power and he had always been certain that if he were to face them in a duel, neither would last more than a few seconds, or a few minutes if they fought him together.

He noticed that when Green and Yellow fought, Green would do everything he could to keep himself from hurting Yellow. Instead of hitting Yellow, he would gently tap her. It was just like when Pink fought with the yellow Ranger. He already knew Blue wanted to protect Yellow, it was obvious Pink wanted to as well, and now Green was also sheltering her.

Dekker growled. How did they expect her to grow? It was no wonder she was the weakest of the group. She didn't need to fight. She could hide behind her friends. But as Dekker leaned in closer to get a better look, he saw she didn't want to. She was trying to do better. She wanted to improve.

He watched the handover. He knew the Ranger's training schedule by now. They would train with their partners for a while before training individually with Red. Today, Yellow was first to be paired up with Red.

Even Red refused to challenge Yellow. He would swing at her, but stop just short of hitting her. Dekker knew had that of been any of the other Rangers, Red's blow would have struck them hard.

He stood up on his branch and smiled to himself before turning away and leaving them to train in piece while he planned out his next move.


	52. The Second Try

_Author's Notes: I shouldn't have to justify myself on this, however, I still feel like I do. I know I update daily, sometimes even twice a day. However, I do have a rather hectic life outside of fanfiction. While I am doing my best to get chapters to you all quickly, please understand if a chapter is not up *right* when you want it. Chapters will be posted when they are posted._

* * *

From behind, Mike approached Emily and wrapped his arms around her waist as she stood over the tunnel to her underground cave and stared inside. She jumped a little at Mike's touch but leaned into him when she realised it was him holding her.

"Are you okay?" Mike asked her. "You know he's probably not still down there."

"It just kind of freaks me out," Emily nodded, "not knowing where he is or what he's planning next."

"He can't hurt us," Mike smiled. He pulled Emily gently, "The others have already left to get the groceries and Mentor's hiding in his room. Maybe you and I can have our second first da…"

"What if he is down there?" Emily interrupted as she turned to Mike. "What if he's in there waiting for us?"

"Don't go down there?" Mike shrugged his shoulders. The answer was pretty clear to him, but Emily still seemed confused. She pulled away from him and picked up the wooden plank. She placed it over the hole and covered it up with leaves and dirt. She then rushed over to the other side of the house and pulled out her Samuraizer to create a large boulder to block the other exit.

Mike followed her around the house, "Why not just block both exits? Trap him in there?"

"I don't want him stuck in there for eternity," Emily answered him. "He already gives me the creeps. I don't want to know he's forever stuck in our backyard."

"Good point," Mike chuckled, "At least we'll be able to tell if he's left or not. If he's even down there."

"Yeah," Emily nodded. She turned to Mike and put her Samuraizer away in her pocket. She gave him a smile, "Now, what did you want to do while the others were out?"

Mike smiled and took a step closer to her but a twig snapping and footsteps in the leaves made him stop. He grabbed Emily and pulled her behind him as he looked around.

"Mike…?"

"Shh," Mike hushed her as he surveyed the Shiba grounds. "Do you hear that?"

Emily shook her head at first but when she listened closely she could hear the same thing Mike was picking up on. They weren't alone.

"Guys, is that…" Emily was interrupted when the boulder shattered into pieces and Dekker rushed the two Rangers. They jumped and rolled out of the way before they found themselves sliced to pieces by the warrior's blade. He stopped in his tracks and turned to both of them.

"Grab your swords," he called.

Neither Ranger needed to be told twice as they summoned their swords and got to their feet to fight. Dekker held them both off with ease, too much ease for his liking. This wasn't a challenge; this was like training with little children. He quickly grew bored and sent them both to the ground reeling in pain. He kicked away Emily's sword and picked up Mike's. He tossed it into the window of the house causing it to shatter and attract Mentor Ji's attention. It didn't take long for the older man to run out with Mike's sword in his hand.

He stopped when he saw a man standing by two of his students. Both appeared to be hurt. He held up the sword.

"I take it you're Dekker," he said.

"Nothing more, nothing less," Dekker nodded. He grinned at the mentor, "Are you the one responsible for training these pathetic Rangers?"

"You took us by surprise," Mike coughed from the ground, "It was hardly fair."

Dekker pointed his sword at Mike. The tip just touched Mike's nose, pricking it slightly.

"A Samurai is always ready for a fight," he said to the green Ranger. "You would know that if you were any good."

"At least I can use Symbol Power," Mike grinned through the pain as he sat up on his knees. He looked up at Dekker, "I heard you couldn't even find the power."

"Mike, don't aggravate him," Emily warned him when she saw Dekker tense up slightly at the mention of his failure.

With Dekker distracted by Mike, Mentor Ji rushed him and swung his sword. Dekker, however, spun around quickly and knocked the sword out of Mentor's hands before getting a slice in on Mentor's chest. The older man dropped to his knees before falling forward.

"Mentor!" Emily cried as she rushed over to him. Dekker scoffed and shook his head.

"It is not lethal," he told Emily, "Your mentor should consider himself lucky that it is not him that I want."

"Who do you want, then?" Mike asked. He spotted Emily's sword in the grass not too far from where he was kneeling. She had dropped it when she rushed to Mentor's Ji side. He inched his way over to the weapon, hoping Dekker wouldn't notice.

But the warrior did. He held his sword out, blocking Mike's path before leaning in close.

"Your girlfriend."

Forgetting about the sword entirely, Mike jumped up and knocked Dekker to the ground before landing a hard punch in his enemy's face. In the fall, Dekker had let go of his sword and it rolled away from him.

Emily watched in horror as Mike continued to beat Dekker, getting in one good blow after another. While she knew Dekker deserved it after everything he had done and everything he was planning on doing, she had never seen this side of Mike before. She had never seen this side of anyone, for that matter. She always trained with her sword; she always fought with her sword. As did her friends. It terrified her to watch Mike beating another human, even if he was only half-human.

Suddenly Dekker grabbed Mike by the throat. With the tables now turned, Dekker was able to roll Mike off of himself and slam the young Samurai hard into the dirt with his hand still pressing into Mike's neck. He leaned in close to the green Ranger's face with a sick smirk.

"I knew you would do that," he said.

Mike's face was turning blue as a result of the lack of oxygen. He heard Dekker laughing before the mad man let him go. Just for revenge for the bruising on his face, Dekker slammed his fist hard into Mike's head.

Thinking the battle was over now that the green Ranger was done, Dekker got to his feet and walked over to Urumasa. He was just about to pick up his sword when he saw it get kicked away. He looked up and found Emily standing before him with her sword in her hands.

"I did not see this coming," he commented as he walked the extra few feet to pick up his sword, "I thought you were the one being protected."

Ignoring Dekker, Emily swung her sword. Dekker quickly picked his up from the ground just in time to stop her attack. He examined her technique.

"Loosen up," he told her. Emily frowned as she looked at him.

"What?"

"You're too tense," he explained, "You need to loosen up when you fight."

Emily wasn't quick enough to react when Dekker broke their lock and swung at her again. He struck her with the side of his blade so as not to slice her in half.

"That would have killed you," he told her.

Emily glared at Dekker, "You like telling people when they could have died, don't you?"

"Elbows bent," Dekker instructed, "Conserve your energy."

"Shut up," Emily shouted and she swung again. Dekker disarmed her before she could land her attack and tossed his sword aside to grab her. He wrapped his arm around her neck and pressed lightly.

"You have much to learn," he whispered to her. "How about we help each other out? I teach you and you help me."

"Bite me," Emily said before he really began to apply pressure to her throat.

"You don't have a choice, Yellow," he told her. He could feel her body giving in to the lack of oxygen.

He looked back at the green Ranger and the mentor as Mentor started to stir. He held his chest and looked up.

"What are you…?"

Dekker reached into Emily's pocket and pulled out her Samuraizer. He knew she didn't need it, and he didn't want any of the Rangers following him.

"I will return her to you once I am finished with her," Dekker said, "Tell your Rangers not to waste their time trying to find her. Whether she lives or not is up to her."

Mentor pushed himself to his feet but when he looked up Dekker was gone. With a heavy sigh, Mentor turned away and walked over to Mike. He lifted the young man in his arms and walked him back into the house, ignoring the burning pain in his chest from where Dekker had struck.

A few hours later, Mia, Kevin and Jayden returned with handfuls of groceries bags. They were all laughing hysterically as they walked to the kitchen to put the food away.

Mia walked to the door and opened it to call to Mike and Emily, thinking they were outside because the house had been quiet when she entered.

"Mike, Emy, come help put things away!" she called outside before realising the yard was empty. She turned to the kitchen with a serious look. When Kevin and Jayden noticed it they stopped laughing.

"What?" Kevin asked when he saw the look of worry on his girlfriend's face.

Mentor Ji stepped into the kitchen shirtless, exposing his gash. After examining it himself he concluded that it was only superficial and he had been rather lucky given the sharp edges of Dekker's blade, but that didn't stop the Rangers from wondering what happened. They also noticed the bowl of water in his hands and a bloodied rag.

"Mentor," Jayden was the first to speak as he dropped his things and rushed to Mentor's side, "What happened?"

"Please tell me you stepped between Mike and Emily while they were training and you got hit…" Mia asked with dread, knowing this was possibly the best case scenario.

"It was Dekker," Mentor announced solemnly as he glanced at the cloth. "We could not stop him."

Just like the three standing before him, Mentor thought it would have been safe to send the trio for groceries. They were starting to need food and the three of them would be better off traveling in a pack than alone or in pairs. He had assumed that the two Rangers remaining home would have been safe as well, given his presence. However, he had failed to protect either of them.

"What did he do?" Kevin growled.

Mentor lowered his head, "Come, Rangers. I will show you."


	53. A Different Lesson

"This is pathetic," Dekker growled. He held Emily's wrist tightly as she tried to escape. She pulled and struggled to break free, but his grip was tight. Dekker shook his head, "I have already told you, if you cooperate with me, you have nothing to fear."

"I don't trust you," Emily snapped, "You want to kill Jayden, you kidnapped Kevin, you hurt Mentor Ji and Mike!"

Dekker threw her to the ground, "Show me your Symbol Power," he demanded.

"I can't…"

"Show me!" he shouted.

Emily looked up at him as he glared angrily at her. She got to her feet, a little shaky.

"W-what do you want to see?"

"A sandstorm," Dekker growled. "I want to learn the sandstorm."

Emily nodded her head and with her finger she traced the Kanji. Quickly the wind picked up and the dirt and sand from the ground whipped up, surrounding both Emily and Dekker in a massive sandstorm.

With the storm brewing around him, Dekker tried to mimic Emily's actions while focusing on what the blue Ranger had taught him. He needed to focus.

As he tried to summon a Symbol Power, Emily began to tip-toe away. The storm would cover her and hopefully she would get far enough away from Dekker so she could feel safe, even if she didn't make it back home.

She jumped over roots, swerved between the trees and ducked under branches. She ran as quickly as she could and thought she made it pretty far. After a few minutes she stopped to catch her breath.

She looked over her shoulder. There was no sign of Dekker. She leaned against a tree and took a seat on the ground, making herself as small as possible just in case he was looking for her.

Dekker stood perfectly still as he tried to focus. He could feel energy rumbling deep inside him but he knew it wasn't Symbol Power. After several moments of trying he realised his efforts were futile. Maybe it was only the Samurai families that could learn the Symbol Power.

But he still needed Emily. He needed to train her. However, when he opened his eyes, she was gone.

"Why do they insist on making this difficult," he whispered as he glanced at Urumasa. He looked back at the deep forest, "I guess it has been a while since I've played hide-and-seek. Ready or not, yellow Ranger, here I come."

From her hiding place, Emily could hear him calling for her and she gulped. She pushed off from the tree and raced through the forest once again, trying to hide. Dekker wanted to train her, but she didn't want to be trained by him. She was perfectly happy being trained by the others. Her friends at home. People she knew would never hurt her.

-Samurai-

"I guess that's what you get for punching an angry psycho in the face," Kevin chuckled as he handed Mike a fresh icepack for his face just after getting briefed on what happened while he and the others were grocery shopping.

Mike glared at Kevin with a mixture of hurt and anger.

"Are you seriously laughing right now?" he asked. "Were you not paying attention to Mentor? Dekker got away…"

"With Emily, I know," Kevin nodded. He patted Mike on the shoulder, "I'm just as worried as you are."

"It doesn't show," Mike growled before glancing out the window. He tried to get out of bed but Mia placed her hand on his chest.

"You'll hurt yourself," she told him. She then looked over at Mentor, "I don't get it. Why would Dekker take Emily if he's just going to bring her back?"

"He's probably going to ask her about Jayden," Kevin said as he eyed the red Ranger, "That's what he did with me. He asks questions for the duel you two are supposed to have."

"If he's trying to anger me he's doing a good job," Jayden was tense and clearly frustrated. The others in the room knew he was beating himself up over recent events. Everything had to do with him. Everyone who was hurt was hurt because of him. It was a lot of weight for him to bear and with every passing moment the weight became heavier and heavier.

"He's trying to prove something, I know it," Mike growled. "The bastard's got issues he's trying to deal with and he's taking them out on us."

"He's got his own agenda," Kevin nodded, "I just hope he gives us a break soon. If Master Xandred decided to strike right now, we wouldn't be able to handle it."

"I don't care about Master Xandred!" Mike shouted as he slammed his fists into his bed, "I don't care about Dekker's agendas! I don't even care about that duel. That son of a bitch has Emily!"

Mia gave Mike a sympathetic look as she took his hand. She could understand his worry. Less than 24 hours ago she had been in his shoes, worried sick about the person she loved getting hurt by the mysterious mad men. It was scary, frustrating and it had made her sick to her stomach.

"She's a tough girl," she tried to reassure him, though she knew it wasn't going to do any good, "She'll be able to take care of herself."

"Dekker did promise to bring her back," Jayden pointed out, "and technically he hasn't lied to us yet."

"Yeah, but he wasn't exactly clear on whether she would be back dead or alive," Mike looked at Mentor. He had been the one to hear Dekker's promise. He would know the truth.

Mentor turned away, completely ashamed, "Mike is right. It is up to Emily."

-Samurai-

Emily held her breath as Dekker walked by. He was fast, but she was small. If she couldn't outrun him, at least there were many places for her to hide, such as behind a boulder.

She could hear his footsteps in the earth and hoped he would leave soon. Suddenly he spoke up.

"Good job, Yellow. Listen to your opponent. Take your time to figure him out. A well thought out attack is much more dangerous."

She furrowed his brow. He would not stop trying to teach her. And he sounded like he was enjoying this. The chance to teach.

Suddenly, she felt a blade press against her throat. Her eyes widened and she turned to see Dekker standing with a smile on his face.

"What happened?" he asked. "Did you get distracted?"

He pulled the sword away from her neck and tossed her a stick. Emily caught it and looked at it as he picked one up for himself.

"I realise you need your Samuraizer for your sword," he said to her, "Therefore we shall fight with sticks."

He slapped her on the arm with his stick, "Remember to keep your guard up at all times. Your opponents, particularly me, will not allow you any time to rest. Even a moment of distraction is long enough for your enemy to kill you."

He swung at Emily again but she ducked, letting his stick smash against the boulder and break. Emily took this to her advantage and swung at his legs. Dekker fell over and laughed.

"Good job, yellow Ranger," he said when he lifted his head and looked at Emily. "You learn quickly."

"I don't need help," Emily told him. "Jayden and the others are already training me! They're all I need."

"They treat you like a child," Dekker pointed out. He jumped back to his feet and grabbed another stick, "They shelter you. Why do they do that?"

"I don't know," Emily shrugged. She took a few steps back but Dekker followed and swung at her again. He hit her in the side and she fell to her knees. Dekker slammed his stick into her back and she fell into the dirt. He knelt down beside her.

"That would have killed you," he pulled her back up to her feet; "They are holding you back. You are not used to being hit."

"They don't want to hurt me," Emily said. By now she realised there was no running away. Dekker would find her and if he wanted to he would kill her. She was better off staying with him and keeping him happy.

"Nonsense," Dekker shook his head, "You are a Samurai. You may not be the destined one, but you are still a Samurai. You should be treated just like the others."

"Why do you care?" Emily asked. "I thought your fight was with Jayden."

"The others hold you back, therefore you are holding them back," Dekker explained. He attacked again and this time Emily stopped it. "How does the red Ranger expect to improve when he's stuck fighting you?"

"He trains with the others," Emily ripped the stick from his hand and kicked him in the stomach, surprising him and herself. She watched as he doubled over. He was winded from the blow. "I don't know where I learned that."

"Trust your instincts, ranger Yellow," Dekker told her. He clutched his stomach with one hand while the other waited for her to return his stick. Emily looked at his weapon and thought about his words. She shook her head and snapped it, along with her own, in half.

"No way am I helping you hurt me," she growled before she took off running.

Dekker glanced at his sword, "She's got a lot of energy, at least. She might actually tire me out before I can defeat her."

-Samurai-

Mike couldn't stay in his bed. Not when Emily was somewhere alone with Dekker. He knew Dekker had warned them through Mentor not to search for her and that she would come home, but he couldn't wait for that to happen.

Mentor was sleeping by his bedside in a chair. Slowly, Mike crawled out of bed and quietly made it out of the room. He was just about to make it outside the house when he heard someone clear her throat.

"You should be in bed."

He turned to see Mia glaring at him, "When Kevin went missing we searched for him."

"I want to be out there too, Mike, but Dekker could be anywhere. We learned that with Kevin," Mia answered sympathetically, knowing how frustrating this was for him. It was hard for her as well. She knew what he was going through and she was also worried for Emily. The yellow Ranger was like her little sister. She wanted to protect her. She wanted to keep her safe. But right now that just didn't seem possible. She looked at Mike, "Anyways, you're in no condition to search the forest or the city for Dekker. He beat you up pretty badly."

"One punch to the head," Mike pointed to the bruise. It looked rather nasty and hurt like hell but his worry for Emily trumped his pain. "I'm fine, Mia."

Mia shook her head, "If she's not back by morning Kevin, Jayden and I will search for her. But Dekker didn't hurt Kevin and he promised to bring Emily back…"

"I promised I would never let anything happen to her!" Mike shouted. At this point Kevin and Jayden walked into the hallway and stood behind Mia. Mike glared at them, "You guys have to help me! We have to help her! She could be hurt or scared or dead!"

Jayden shook his head. He wanted to find Emily just like Mike, but at this point it just seemed like a wild goose chase. There wasn't enough time to cover every inch of the forest outside the house, never mind the entire city as well. Instead, he had done a few adjustments to the gap sensors. Normally they would only pick up Nighlok or Mooger energy and ignore anything less but now he made sure they were tuned to pick up on even the smallest reading of Nighlok energy (such as the energy that came from a half-human-half-Nighlok) and they were also programmed to pick up on Emily. They had a much better chance of finding her that way.

"Mike, calm down," he said to the green Ranger, "I've reprogrammed the gap sensors. If Emily or Dekker go near one, we'll find them. In the mean time you need to rest. You're no good to her like this."

"But you guys are!" Mike screamed. His stomach was doing flips, his heart was racing and he could feel the sweat dripping from every pore on his body. He was terrified for Emily.

"Dekker beat the three of you up already," Kevin pointed out, "Who's to say we'll do any better against him. We'll need to beat him as a team."

"Jayden's a worthy opponent!" Mike cried.

"Dekker won't fight Jayden until the duel," Mia reminded him. She grabbed Mike's hands, "We're doing what we can given the circumstances. We're all worried about Emily, but she'll be fine. And like I said: if she doesn't turn up tomorrow we'll go look, right guys?"

Mia turned to Kevin and Jayden. She hadn't exactly spoken with them about this decision but it was only fair. Dekker had made a promise and so far he hadn't lied to them, but the Rangers were far from being able to trust him.

"We'll search tomorrow. We'll be rested and ready for anything Dekker throws our way," Jayden nodded. "Until then there are gap sensors everywhere. All Emily needs to do is find one."


	54. The Lesson is Complete

The sun rose slowly behind the trees as Emily ran. Dekker was still hot on her trail and she knew there was no avoiding him for long. She had tried to put things in his path; broken branches, rocks and anything else she could find in the forest but with his sword Dekker sliced through everything.

She could hear him breathing heavily behind her and she knew he was getting tired as well. They had been running on and off all night and it was finally taking its toll.

Dekker growled as Emily turned suddenly behind another tree. Enough was enough. With all the energy he had left he sprinted forward to grab her before she got away.

He was met, however, by a bright light and from the light a stone appeared and slammed him in the face. It was already bruised from the beating he had taken from the green Ranger, now he was sure his nose was broken. He did smile, though. His student was learning. Always attack the enemy before they can attack you. Fight until someone could no longer fight, preferably that someone was the opponent.

After setting his broken nose he looked around for a sign of the yellow Ranger, thinking she would have taken off. Instead though, he found her slumped forward in pain, barely breathing. He knew using the Symbol Power with the Samuraizer was a draining task for the Samurai, and after running all night he wasn't surprised that it had finished her off.

He searched the ground for two more sticks. When he found them he tossed one to her. Emily didn't catch it. She let it fall beside her. She couldn't do this anymore. She was tired, she was sore, she was scared. She just wanted this to end. All if it to end.

"Pick it up," Dekker told her. Emily looked at her stick and shook her head.

Dekker knew why she was giving up. Her friends had been soft on her. The red Ranger had been soft on her. She wasn't used to such beatings from her training, making her weak and a coward. He swatted her with his stick at which she fell over.

Unsatisfied, Dekker shouted at his student, "Pick it up!"

Emily grabbed the stick with her hand and continued to lie on the ground. Dekker growled.

"Get up."

Emily didn't move, but Dekker was sure she had heard him. He grabbed her and lifted her up before slamming her into a tree.

"Don't think your enemy will give up once you're on the ground," he told her. "They will continue to fight until you are dead. They don't care how tired or hurt you are. You must learn to survive."

Emily swung her stick but Dekker jumped away from the attack and took his shot, striking Emily in the side. She fell to the ground again and dropped her stick.

Dekker looked at her, "Get up."

Emily didn't move. He swung at her again, "Get up!"

-Samurai-

Mia watched the sunrise from the bench outside. This was the second night in a row where she couldn't get a good night's sleep. It was different sleeping in an empty room by herself, especially when her roommate wasn't even sleeping in the next room over. She was somewhere out in the world with Dekker.

She knew that normally she wouldn't be up at this time, not without Emily. Emily usually woke her up early in the morning with her enthusiasm and her excitement at a new day and most of the time it annoyed Mia greatly (she was not a morning person), but this morning she missed it.

She was soon joined by Kevin, who also looked like he hadn't slept very well. He took a seat beside her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Only a few more hours before we can start looking," he told her, remembering the promise he made to Mike, "Maybe earlier if the others wake up."

"We're just waiting for Mike," Jayden said as he too stepped out of the house and joined Kevin and Mia. He looked at the blue Ranger, "You weren't gone for this long, were you?"

"I didn't really count the hours," Kevin shrugged his shoulders, "But I don't think so. Then again, Dekker was bored with me pretty quickly. He probably knows what to expect this time around and he's being more patient."

"Maybe," Jayden nodded. He would accept any suggestion as long as it meant Emily came home safely.

The door opened again and Mentor stepped out. He still looked the same as he did the night before, completely discouraged. Jayden placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll search for her once Mike wakes up," he said, "She'll be fine."

"I feel like I have failed," Mentor finally admitted to the Rangers. "Here I am, mentor to the Power Rangers, and I can't even defend you against one enemy."

"You did your best," Kevin assured the mentor, though he hadn't actually been there to see Mentor's efforts, "Besides; you're not a trained Ranger. You're the Samurai expert, we're the Rangers."

Mentor took a deep breath, "I guess you are right, Kevin. I'll go check up on Mike."

"He was fast asleep last I saw," Kevin said, "Try not to wake him."

"Do you guys really think I would be sleeping in today?" Mike asked as he stepped out of the house, already dressed in his training gear. He glared at his friends, "I'm going to find Emily."

"We were just waiting for you," Mia nodded. She stood up from the bench and turned to Jayden, "Where should we start?"

"The gap Sensors didn't pick up anything last night," Jayden said, "They cover almost every inch of the city, I think it's safe to say she's nowhere there."

"So the forest then?" Mike asked. The others agreed and started to make their way inside to get ready until they heard a scream. Instantly they all turned to face the forest and saw a few birds flying away from a patch of trees in the distance.

"I think I prefer the sound of the gap Sensor over that," Kevin commented as he looked to the others. No one responded to him, though. They all took off quickly with Mike leading the way

-Samurai-

"Get up," Dekker instructed his student as he watched her lie on the ground, completely still except for a slight tremble from her aching muscles.

Emily did as she was told knowing nothing good would come from disobeying him. But she couldn't stay on her feet. Not anymore. She barely made it to her knees before she slumped forward again.

Dekker looked at her. He knew she could hear him.

"Are you giving up?" he asked her. "Do you really want this to end? Are you that desperate?"

"Are you going to kill me?" he heard Emily mutter from the ground. He knelt beside her.

"Not if you don't let me," he said. He grabbed the back of her shirt and lifted her up, "Let's con…"

Dekker was stopped when he felt the strike of a sword in his side and he recoiled away from Emily in pain. He placed his hand over his fresh wound and glanced up, finding the red Ranger fully morphed.

"I believe I told your mentor to leave us," he said with a smirk as he got to his feet. "I promised the return of your friend."

"Did you really think we would wait very long to see if you would hold up that promise?" Jayden growled. Dekker looked beyond him where the other three Rangers were standing, morphed as well.

"Just long enough for you all to get some rest," he nodded his head, "I guess I should have known you would all come looking for her after only a few hours."

"Get away from Emily," Mia ordered him. Dekker chuckled. He was out of arm's reach from Emily and yet her friends were still uncomfortable with how close he was to her. He only wished he could see behind their helmets so he could study their faces.

To Mia's surprise, Dekker did as he was told after a few moments. The half-human glanced at Jayden. His training with the yellow Ranger was over. She was defeated and he had learned a few things.

"I have a message for you," he told Jayden.

"I don't want to hear it, Dekker," Jayden said. He held his sword out, "Get lost."

"You're holding yourself back," he said. "When you fight her, there's no need to take it easy. I have trained her myself now. I know she is more than capable of taking a hit."

He gestured to the cuts and bruises that covered Emily's body from where he had whacked her with his stick.

"I need you to train, red Ranger," Dekker said. "I need you to train as much as you can so you can reach your highest potential. You now have a fourth worthy training dummy."

"That's just rude," Mia frowned at the insult. She knew she wasn't a worthy opponent in Dekker's eyes, but she had at least hoped he saw her and the others as more than a simple training dummy for Jayden.

Jayden frowned as well, for a different reason, "So you think that just because you trained her I'm going to start beating her up every chance I get?" he scoffed, "Think again, Dekker."

"You may want to rethink your training lessons then," Dekker said. "You're going to need all the help you can get if you want to beat me."

"I could beat you right now if I wanted too," Jayden snapped as he swung his sword. With his stick Dekker blocked the attack and pushed the red Ranger away.

"You are not ready," he said. "I will leave you until you are."

He was done studying them. He had figured out everything he needed to figure out and he had done what he could to help Jayden be the best warrior he could be, the rest was up to the Rangers.

"You're not leaving," Mike growled as he rushed forward. Dekker pulled out Urumasa and laughed when he stopped Mike's swing. He kicked the green Ranger away and watched him fall to the ground, weakened from the battle the day before. While the others made sure he was okay, Dekker turned and walked away.

"Are you kidding me?" Kevin grumbled when he looked back up for his enemy but realised he was gone, "He chooses now to run?"

"Hopefully that means we don't have to worry about him anymore," Mia suggested hopefully.


	55. After Dekker

The following morning Jayden woke up with a terrible feeling in his stomach. He threw the blankets off and rushed down the hall to Emily and Mia's room, where all the other Rangers were sleeping or recovering. But when he threw the door open he was taken by surprise.

First he saw Mia's bed and sitting on the bed was Mia tending to a badly injured Kevin. Jayden furrowed his brow. When had this happened? When he had gone to bed, Kevin had been fine. A little tired from recent events, but nothing that would cause Jayden to worry.

Mia noted the look of confusion on his face. She just sighed.

"He's still hurting," she told him, "Dekker really did a number on him."

Jayden was still confused as he approached the bed and reached out to Kevin.

"I don't get it… what happened?" he asked.

It was Kevin's turn to shoot Jayden a confused look.

"Dekker kidnapped me, remember?" he said. "He beat me up pretty good too before he let me go. I'm considering myself lucky, though," he gestured over to the other side of the room. Jayden turned his head slowly and he saw Emily's bed. Mike was sitting on it, blocking his view of Emily. But as Jayden stepped closer he started to see exactly what Kevin meant.

He placed his hand on Mike's shoulder, "Is she…?"

"During the night," Mike nodded, "We did all we could but…"

Jayden felt his heart dropping as he slowly reached out to Emily and touched her hand. It was cold.

He turned to Kevin, noting the injuries on his blue Ranger before looking back at the late yellow Ranger. His blood boiled; Dekker would pay.

-Samurai-

Jayden woke with a start and jumped out of bed quickly, before he could even process what had happened. He threw off his blankets and rushed over to the girls' bedroom. When he opened the door the first thing he noticed was that there was no one on Mia's bed. It was completely empty. His heart raced as he turned to Emily's bed. He walked over and took her hand. It didn't feel cold. He touched her forehead. It felt a little warm, much to his relief.

He let out a breath when he realised it had just been a dream, though he wasn't going to be completely satisfied until he saw Kevin and made sure the blue Ranger was okay.

He stepped out of the room and walked to the kitchen where the other three were gathered. They looked glum but uninjured. He rubbed his hands on his face as he took a seat at the table with his friends.

"How are you?" he asked them.

"Meh," Mia shrugged. Her head was being held up by her hand as she poked at her breakfast with her fork. She looked at Jayden, "I didn't sleep at all last night."

"Consider yourself lucky," Jayden sighed as his nightmare played over in his head. He turned to Kevin, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," he said, "Given how Emily's probably feeling I think I'm lucky I'm only tired."

"Did she wake up at all last night?" Jayden asked.

Mia nodded her head, "Once," she turned to Mike, "She asked about you."

"Did you tell her I was fine?" Mike looked up from his plate of untouched food. He knew Emily would probably be worried about him. She had seen him fall to Dekker before he had taken her.

"I did," Mia answered. "She was pretty upset, though. It took about an hour to calm her down and get her back to sleep."

"It…" Mike frowned before he slammed his fists on the table and jumped off. Mia, Kevin and Jayden watched as he rushed out of kitchen. They all knew where he was going.

Mia pushed her breakfast away and rested her head on the table. Kevin and Jayden heard her let out a loud sigh.

"I hate Dekker."

Kevin had to laugh as he placed his hand on her head and stroked her hair gently, "I thought that went without saying."

"What's his problem, anyways?" Mia lifted her head slightly, "I mean, shouldn't he just kill us and get this over with? Why did he let you go? Why didn't he just kill Emily, or Mike, or Mentor?"

"Why can't we just duel now so I can finish him," Jayden growled. He agreed with Mia. His enemy was more than twisted. He had kidnapped Kevin to ask questions on Jayden and to try and train in the way of the water Samurai. When he was done with Kevin, he let him walk off. Then he took Emily. He beat her pretty badly, but when he had spoken to Jayden he insisted he had been training with her. Jayden wanted to know what kind of enemy would train his opponent's allies. It didn't make any sense to him, no matter which way he looked at it.

"He wants the perfect battle," Kevin shrugged his shoulders. "My guess is he's planning something big and he wanted to know how to execute it. He did, after all, tell you he wanted you to fight like we were in danger."

"He has his chance yesterday, though," Jayden sighed, still very confused.

-Samurai-

Mike walked into Emily's room and approached her bed. He saw Mia had placed a chair on the end of the bed, probably to watch her while she slept. He didn't question it, though. He was just thankful it was there. He took a seat and looked at Emily.

"You're taking quite a beating for a girl who was never supposed to be a Ranger," he whispered so as not to wake her. He spotted her stuffed ape, Monkey, on the floor beside the bed and he went to pick it up. Emily loved her ape. It had been a gift from her sister. A final goodbye before Emily had to leave home to be a Samurai Ranger. It was, with the exception of the flute, the only thing Emily cherished in this house. He was confident that if the house suddenly caught fire, Emily would risk her life to make sure the stuffed ape came out of the burning building with her.

He tucked it under her arm and kissed her forehead. He reached for the chair and pulled it over so it was beside the bed. He took a seat and watched her sleep.

In the corner of his eye he saw her flute sitting on her bedside table. He remembered the last time he heard it being played. She had been in bed injured after falling down a ravine and while she recovered she had taught him a few of the notes and the beginning of the song she was working on. She planned on finishing it by the time her Samurai duties were over and playing it for Serena – if everything went according to plan that was. There was a lot going against her, though. It was entirely possible she would never go back home. Master Xandred was a powerful creature and Mike was certain that at some point he and the others would come face to face with him. There was also Dekker, who showed he took no mercy on the youngest and least experienced Ranger on the team. Both monsters were cold and cruel and while Mike would protect her against anything, he knew there was only so much he could do.

But even if he could protect her against her enemies, he could never protect her completely. She could return home, but she ran the risk of returning to an empty home. Her parents would be waiting for her, he was sure of that, but if Serena were to pass away while Emily was gone things would be completely different back at home. The way Emily spoke about Serena made Mike feel like her older sister was her entire world. Emily had always looked up to Serena in so many ways, claiming the "real" yellow Ranger was beautiful, smart, strong, confident, and everything Emily wished she could be.

Mike knew that wasn't true. He had never met Serena, though he hoped one day he would. But he knew Emily's perception of her sister was distorted. That didn't mean he thought Emily's words were lies. He believed her completely. He only believed it wasn't the real truth because he knew Emily and he knew that if Serena could see her little sister now, she would be saying the very same thing about Emily. That she was beautiful, smart, strong, confident, and everything Serena wished she could be.

With a smile Mike took the flute in his hands and started to play what he could remember of Emily's song, hoping she could hear it as she slept and that it would make her feel a little better.

As Emily slept, her lips curled up into a smile and she nestled into her stuffed ape while the music from the flute played.


	56. Hit Me

She could feel every part of her body burning as she drifted between asleep and awake. Dekker hadn't held back a single blow when he "trained" her. Lying in her soft bed was painful. Movement of any kind was painful. Breathing was painful.

And yet the sound of the ill-played flute eased her pains. Without opening her eyes she knew Mike was there, sitting next to her with her flute in his gentle hands.

The music brought her back to when she was a young girl, before her Samurai training had even started. Before her sister was sick. She remembered watching Serena from just outside her older sister's bedroom as she played her flute. She had learned the instrument before Emily was born, having picked it up early, and the large age gap between the girls, eight years, gave Serena much time to practice the instrument before Emily's ears could even pick up on the sound in her mother's womb. Serena had always been a natural at everything she had done and picked up on skills quickly. Playing the flute was just one of the things she had mastered at a young age.

Serena would always know when her young sister was watching her. For a few minutes she would let little Emily believe she had no idea of her presence and she would continue to do whatever it was she was doing. Whether it was homework, training for her Samurai duties, or playing the flute. She knew Emily admired her and she didn't want that to change; not because she wanted the attention. She cared deeply for her little sister and wanted to be the best she could be so that Emily would always have someone strong to look up to, no matter what life did to try and change that.

"_How do you do that?"_

Serena heard her sister speak and turned to the door. She invited the child into her room and sat her down on her bed. She held up the flute.

"_Do you know what this is called?"_

"_Fute?"_

"_A flute, yes,"_ Serena chuckled and corrected her baby sister without ever letting Emily know she had made a mistake. She knew Emily was smart enough to learn on her own. She handed the instrument to the four year old, _"I was your age when dad taught me how to play. How about you give it a shot?"_

Emily looked at the woodwind instrument and shook her head.

"_It's for big kids."_

"_You can do it,"_ Serena encouraged. She gently placed the flute under Emily's lower lip, _"Blow."_

Emily blew but she couldn't control the direction of the air. Instead of aiming for the hole in the embouchure, she blew in Serena's face. Her older sister didn't get mad. She laughed and smiled.

"_Aim downwards, Emy. Try to get the air in the hole, okay?"_

Emy did as instructed and blew again. This time the flute made a noise. She grinned and looked up at Serena. Her older sister nodded and then placed Emily's fingers over the holes along the flute.

"_This is C,"_ she said.

Emily looked at Serena, "_But what about A and B?"_

"_I know what I'm doing, Emy," _Serena smiled sweetly, _"Blow gently."_

Emily blew and thinking she had done well she looked at her sister. Serena rubbed her ears but continued to smile at her little sister.

"_You'll get the hang of it one day," _she told her, _"just continue to practice. Push yourself until you're ready to give up, and then push harder. If it doesn't hurt, you're not doing it right_."

"_The flute hurts?"_ little Emily looked down at the instrument in her hand and let it drop. Thankfully Serena caught it before it hit the ground. She chuckled at Emily.

"_The flute doesn't hurt, Emy,_" she assured the child, _"But some things will. You can only rise when you start at the bottom."_

Emily remembered her sister's wise words as her eyes fluttered opened and suddenly the music from the flute stopped. She rolled over and smiled when she saw Mike was still sitting next to her bed.

"Why did you stop?" she asked him as he set the flute down.

"How are you feeling?"

"Ask me in a few days when it doesn't hurt to think of that answer," Emily replied. She looked at the flute, "Why did you stop?"

"I suck at it," Mike shrugged. "I just thought it would help you sleep a little better, you know, considering the last time I played for you, you fell asleep on me."

Emily giggled. She remembered that moment very well. She remembered how Mike hadn't left her side for a moment while she laid in bed, even when she was sleeping and there were millions of other things he could be doing; things that were a lot better or productive than sitting with her.

Mike leaned in and tucked her hair behind her ear, "You had me worried," he told her. "When Mentor told me Dekker took you…"

"I was scared too," Emily admitted. She averted her gaze away from Mike. "I thought he was going to kill me."

"I was never going to let that happen," Mike smiled. He gently touched one of the cuts on her forehead. "He said he trained you."

"Beat me with a stick," Emily nodded. "Right now, I'm not a huge fan of the forest."

"Neither am I," Mike laughed. "But you know you're safe now, right? I'm not going to let anything else get you, especially Dekker."

Emily smiled but her mind flew back to what Dekker had told her during training.

_"They treat you like a child. They shelter you. Why do they do that?"_

_"I don't know."_

_"They are holding you back. You are not used to being hit."_

_"They don't want to hurt me."_

_"Nonsense. You are a Samurai. You may not be the destined one, but you are still a Samurai. You should be treated just like the others."_

She appreciated the others looking out for her. She knew that on many matters they knew better than her. They all had a few years on her. That alone made them older, wiser and stronger. But she wasn't their _little_ "teammate". She _was_ their teammate; their equal. If they wanted to the team to be strong and if they really did want her to improve they needed to treat her just like they treated themselves. She may get hurt and she may fall down, but as her sister told her: "_You can only rise when you start at the bottom."_

She looked at Mike for a moment before lifting her head from the pillow and throwing off her blankets. Mike was quick to react. He grabbed her by the arms before she could get out of bed.

"Emily…"

"Let me go," Emily demanded. Mike frowned and shook his head. He tried to push her back down into her bed.

"Emily, you're hurt."

"I know," Emily nodded, "It's my body."

"Whatever you need I'll get it for you," he said, desperately trying to keep her in bed before she hurt herself. He was stronger than her and laid her back down but Emily pushed his hands off her and rolled out of bed from the other side. She stood up. She was a little shaky on her feet from the pain and lack of energy but she managed to stay on her feet. She turned to Mike.

"I'm not a kid."

"Who said you were?" Mike frowned as he rushed around to the other side of the bed. He went to touch her, support her, but Emily held her hand up.

"Don't."

Mike kept his hands away from Emily but still tried to at least keep her near her bed. She wasn't in any shape to be up and about, even for the Ranger with a seemingly endless supply of energy. But Emily was determined to move past him. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him aside. Mike tried to reach for her again to keep her still and keep her from hurting herself but Emily wouldn't let him touch her. He sighed.

"Emily, you have to get back into bed. You're hurt!"

"I want to train," Emily grabbed her training clothes and held them up for Mike to see. She looked at him, "I'm not going to get better if I don't train."

"You're going to hurt yourself," Mike ripped the clothes from her hand. "You'll train when you're feeling better. I'll help you catch up on anything you missed. We'll all help you. You'll be back up to speed…"

"No I won't," Emily shook her head. "I'm not a baby."

"I know, Em," Mike nodded, "No one…"

"Then why won't you hit me?"

Mike wasn't sure he heard her right. Was she asking him to strike her? Was she insane? He would never do that! He didn't want her to get hurt. Even if he didn't care for her, he wasn't the kind of guy who would ever put his hands on a woman.

"What?"

"Why don't you and the others hit me?" Emily asked again. Mike shrugged his shoulders.

"Because we're not low-life scum."

"You hit Jayden," Emily pointed out. Mike frowned.

"I can barely touch him, normally," he said. "And to be fair, he usually hits me first."

"You hit Kevin."

"Kevin's a man. He can take it. And again, he usually hits me first."

"You hit Mia."

"Mia's…" Mike tried to find a suitable answer for that one, "Mia's older…"

"So?"

Mike frowned. Why did Emily insist in challenging him?

"So… I don't know she's just… She's Mia."

Emily wasn't happy with that answer. She shot Mike a look before leaving the room to find Jayden, Kevin and Mia. Thankfully they weren't too far away. She could feel her legs were starting to give into the pain, as was the rest of her body.

Mia was the first to notice Emily enter the common room and gave her a funny look. Mike was right behind her, but the look on his face told Mia that he was also uncomfortable with her being out of bed.

"Emy…"

Emily looked at Mia, "Why don't you hit me?"

"I think Mentor gave her some crazy pills," Mike stated after Emily's comment.

Mia furrowed her brow as she glanced at Emily, "Why won't I what?"

"Hit me," it was more of a demand than an answer.

Mia looked around the room at the others before finding an answer.

"Because I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm already hurt," Emily pointed out. "Why won't you hit me?"

"Because I…" Mia shook her head, "I mean… I don't… you know."

Emily shook her head before heading outside. Mike and the others groaned and followed her; worried she was going to hurt herself.

She picked up one of the training swords and tossed another to Jayden.

"I want to train," she told him.

Jayden looked at the sword and then at his team, "Can someone look up the definition for painkillers? I thought it meant they killed the pain."

Emily struck Jayden. She wasn't afraid to do so. She had hit him and the others many times. Jayden looked at her.

"Emily."

"Dekker wants you to train too," she told him. "Hit me."

Jayden lowered his sword to his side and pointed to the house, "Emily, that's enough. Go back to bed."

Emily hit him again, "You're holding me back."

"For obvious reasons, Em. You're gonna get hurt."

"So will you," Emily said as she hit Jayden again. "Dekker wants you to train. You're not going to get better if you don't put in any effort. If it doesn't hurt, you're not doing it right."

"Emily."

"Hit me!"

"No."

"I'm not a child," Emily glared at all of her friends as she said this. "I want to be treated the same way the rest of you are treated. I'm a Samurai! I want proper training!"

"You want to train like the others?" Jayden asked her as he lifted his sword. Mike, Kevin and Mia took a step forward to stop him but Jayden held up his hand. He looked at Emily, "You want to get hit?"

Emily nodded her head. Finally someone was getting it. She wasn't a child. She was a Ranger. She had been hit by a Nighlok before. She had been hit by other people before. She knew she could handle a few more bruises.

Jayden swung his sword and hit Emily in the ribs. He held back a little, only because he knew she was already in a lot of pain and he didn't want this little stunt to permanently break her. Still, Emily dropped her sword, clutched her ribs and fell to the ground.

It hurt Jayden to strike her like that. He didn't want to have to do it, but Emily was a Samurai, she was his teammate and she was right. She should be treated like the others. She deserved to be treated just like the others.

"Jayden!" the three behind him cried when they saw Emily take the hit and fall. He watched Mia and Mike rush over to tend to her and he could feel Kevin's glare burning into him.

"What did you do that for?" Kevin shouted. "Jayden, she's just a…"

"She's your teammate, Kevin," Jayden put down his sword. "Nothing more, nothing less."

"But…"

Jayden turned to Mike and Mia, cutting Kevin off, "Let her rest. Take her back to her room. Tomorrow, though, we all train."


	57. A Mysterious Feeling

Just as promised, the following morning the Rangers were all up just like any other day. They were training hard and giving their lessons everything they had.

Knowing the Rangers would be reluctant to follow certain orders, Jayden was training with Emily. He fought without holding back but he also didn't want her to hurt anymore than she already was. She did need to heal after all if she wanted to get back into the game for the next Nighlok attack. He swung at her and hit her arm, but Emily didn't recoil away. She smashed his sword aside and struck him back, knocking him off his feet.

"Told you," she smiled just before the Gap Sensor went off and the Samuraizers started beeping. Without another word the five of them took off.

They expected a Nighlok attack. They expected screaming people, crashed cars and all the other signs of a Nighlok appearance, but the city was quiet, especially the location where the Nighlok reading had been picked up.

Mike looked around at his friends, "So… where is the Nighlok?"

They all shrugged, but Jayden couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. He knew there was something here; something watching him. He felt it pass through him and turned around.

Nothing. Only a few people walked past. All of them seemed harmless, clueless even.

Having seen her leader turn sharply, Emily glanced at him and placed her hand on his arm.

"Jayden, what's wrong?"

"I thought I felt something," Jayden answered without looking at her or the others. He continued to survey the scene before him. This felt like a joke. A prank! But Master Xandred wasn't a funny guy. He shook his head, "It's gone now."

Kevin frowned. He looked down and found the mini Gap Sensor that had picked up on a Nighlok attack. He picked it up and examined it.

"Is it still sensitive for Dekker and Emily?" he asked Jayden. The red Ranger shook his head and gestured to Emily.

"It would be going off right now if it was," he said. "I readjusted them all when we brought her home."

"At least we don't have to walk around the city again," Mia groaned, remembering the last time Jayden had fiddled with the little Gap Sensors.

"Well, something triggered this Gap Sensor," Kevin said. He placed it back on the ground, hiding it from the feet of walking citizens so it wouldn't be kicked aside or into the nearby water.

"Yeah, but what?" Mia frowned.

Emily pulled in closer to her team. Surely Jayden wouldn't have readjusted the Gap Sensors so they wouldn't pick up on Dekker. He was obviously a threat at this point and if he turned up and started causing trouble they needed to know. And if she wasn't triggering the Gap Sensor, and if a Nighlok wasn't triggering the Gap Sensor, surely it could have only been Dekker.

Kevin was thinking the same thing as he locked eyes with Emily. Neither of them wanted to face the warrior a second time.

Jayden shook his head, "Let's go. There's nothing here."

-Samurai-

Though they never actually battled, the Rangers still returned home feeling defeated. Mentor Ji was surprised to see them back so quickly after they had only just left. He was especially surprised to see they were all unharmed. He didn't expect them to return too badly injured, but normally after a battle there were always a few new bruises and a few cuts that would need to be looked at.

"That was fast," he commented.

Mike shrugged, "It doesn't take long to take care of nothing."

"The Gap Sensor was working fine, but no Nighlok," Kevin explained to his mentor. "We didn't see anything out of the ordinary."

The Rangers all turned to the door when they heard a noise from outside. Fearing this had something to do with the lack of a monster at the battlefield they all exchanged worried looks.

Mentor made his way to the door. After his failed attempt at trying to protect Mike and Emily from Dekker, he felt like he needed to do more. If this was a threat, he couldn't let his Rangers be taken by surprise.

He stepped outside and saw an arrow with a message had been shot into the wall of the house. He looked around, trying to find any clues of a person or a Nighlok. When he was satisfied that the grounds were empty he pulled the arrow from the wall and returned inside.

"No one was there," he told the Rangers before he held up the arrow and the note. He showed it to the Rangers.

"See you soon," Kevin read the note out loud to the others and his stomach turned. Mia took his hand in hers and squeezed it comfortingly.

Emily whimpered slightly and took a step back into Mike. He wrapped his arms around her and looked at Jayden.

"Is it…?"

"I don't know," Jayden sighed.

"Dekker wouldn't leave a note," Mia said to the others. "He's way too… Dekker. If he were coming, he would tell us face to face."

"Or he's playing another game," Mike said. "Someone shot that arrow. If there was no Nighlok…"

"This just doesn't seem like Dekker to me," Mia shook her head. She turned to Kevin and Emily, "I really don't think it's him."

"There's something fishy about this arrow," Jayden commented as he took the arrow from Mentor. A light smell of raw fish was starting to tickle his nose. As far as he knew no one had been cooking with fish, or even fishing. He held the arrow to his nose.

"Obviously there's something fishy," Mia frowned. Jayden chuckled and held out the arrow.

"I mean literally," he said. "Smell."

Mia hesitantly smelt the arrow and quickly pulled away. Jayden was right. The arrow did stink.

-Samurai-

While the origins of the arrow still baffled the rest of the team, they had continued with their day. Jayden retreated into his bedroom, with the arrow in his hands. There was something strange about it. Something uncanny. He couldn't quite place his finger on what it was, though.

Mia was sure it wasn't Dekker who had shot it. Her reasoning made sense to Jayden. So far Dekker had been rather straightforward. If he had a plan in mind, he would tell the Rangers what it was. There was no need for him to leave mysterious notes. He was mysterious enough.

The lack-of-Nighlok attack also troubled him. He couldn't understand why the Gap Sensor would go off like it did if there had been nothing around to trigger it. He was certain he had readjusted them all correctly once Emily was home. There was no reason for any of them to malfunction.

He hoped that by practicing some of his symbols he could take his mind off the strange occurrences of the day. But as he traced his Kanji on his paper at his desk, he thought he felt someone watching him. He looked up and reached for his Samuraizer. With a quick swing and a yell, he jumped up and swung into the empty air.

His door flew open and the others rushed in after hearing him yell.

"Jayden, what's up?" Mike asked.

Without turning to look at his friends, Jayden answered, "Something's here!"

He felt energy go right through him, almost like a breeze. He turned his head, following his gut instinct.

"There!" he cried out as he followed the energy. "Did you feel that?"

"No, what did you feel?" Kevin asked. There was a panic in his voice. Jayden hushed him though as the energy passed through him again. He needed to figure out what it was and why it was in his home.

He thought he felt it coming from his closet. As a warning to the other Rangers he pointed to the door and inched his way over. The others couldn't feel anything, but they backed him up and carefully stepped further into his room.

Jayden slid his closet door open and he and the others jumped with a start when Samurai armour came tumbling out. Jayden stepped away from his closet, Kevin nearly tripped over his own feet, Mike's eyes widened, Mia's hand flew to her heart and Emily screamed and closed her eyes. But when they realised there was no real danger they all started to calm down.

"Don't scare us like that!" Mia shouted at Jayden, thinking this was just some cruel prank he was trying to pull.

"I could have sworn there was something," Jayden stated firmly. Mike shook his head.

"Dude, there's nothing here," he said. He wasn't impressed. This prank, or whatever it was Jayden was trying to pull, wasn't funny.

Jayden wasn't giving up though. He walked past the Ranger hoping he could pick up on the energy again and find it. This time for real.

"There was definitely something other worldly in here," he said, "I sensed it!"

"Sorry, Jayden, we didn't sense anything," Mia tried to say gently but she still wasn't impressed with Jayden. She knew that while Kevin acted strong, he was still a little jumpy about Dekker and it had only been about a day since Emily was rescued from him and she was still feeling the fear and pain. Jayden's paranoia wasn't doing anything to help either of them.

After hearing several screams coming from Jayden's bedroom Mentor made his way over. He initially thought the Rangers were only training, but the screams had begun to worry him. When he approached Jayden's room he heard him talking about sensing something.

"Jayden," Mentor said, grabbing the red Ranger's attention, "It's important to trust your instincts, but I don't feel anything."

It hit Jayden again. The mysterious energy. It flew right through his face. Furious and frustrated Jayden called his sword and swung, hoping to hit something. Anything!

He stopped swinging when he heard Emily scream. Just in time too as his sword stopped inches from her nose. Had he continued, even for just a second longer, he could have taken her head right off.

Mike summoned his sword quickly as Emily's knees buckled. The Green Ranger swung his sword at Jayden's, knocking it out of his leader's hands and away from Emily.

"Dude!" he shouted, "What's your deal?"

Jayden looked down at Emily and sighed, "Sorry, Em."

He glanced around the room. He didn't care what the others thought. There was something in this house and it was starting to put his friends in danger once again. He was going to find it.

He picked up his sword from the ground and marched out of his room.

The others watched him leave and exchanged looks.

"Does anyone sense anything?" Kevin asked.

"Do you think the whole Dekker thing's finally getting to his head?" Mia asked as she helped Emily up from the ground. "Maybe he's just paranoid that Dekker's going to come back?"

"Whatever it is, it's driving him crazy," Mike sighed. "And not like crazy-annoyed-crazy. This is like not-right-in-the-head-crazy."


	58. Keeping Them Safe

Jayden couldn't sleep. There was something in the house. He could feel it. The problem was, no one else believed him, and the more he tried to convince him there was a presence, the more they believed he was crazy. Mike had already said there was something that wasn't quite right in his head.

But Jayden knew he wasn't going yes. Yes, he was stressed because of Dekker. He had been having nightmares of the mad warrior returning and hurting or even killing one or all of his friends. He got chills whenever he heard Dekker's name mentioned. Guilt would overwhelm him when he would see Mia and Kevin together. They had gotten a lot closer since Dekker had taken Kevin. Kevin had no doubt been scared while he was taken hostage, and Jayden saw first-hand just how terrified Mia had been for her boyfriend. It had hurt them both and they were still suffering from the event.

His blood would boil anytime he saw Emily. Dekker had nearly beaten her to death and he was certain that if he and the others hadn't found her in time, Emily wouldn't be with them anymore. While the young Samurai was putting on a brave face and insisting her injuries weren't bothering her, Jayden could tell she was lying. She was a horrible liar, first of all, and the other give away was that she would limp, move gingerly and hiss in pain when she did something as simple as changing facial expressions or breathing.

He hated to look at Mike and Mentor as well. They had also been hurt by Dekker. Everyone had been hurt by Dekker and it had all been because of him. The guilt, the stress, the fear, the anxiety, it was all overwhelming for Jayden. The only reason he was still sane (though the others would disagree) was because he knew he needed to stay strong for the team. They protected him; he would protect them, no matter the cost.

But this feeling he had – the feeling that someone was watching him – it was different. He could feel a gaze burning into him. He could also hear the breathing of another person, as if that person were standing right behind him. Sometimes, he could even feel the presence, like a gust of air blowing or a spirit flying through his body.

The red Ranger got out of bed. He gave up on trying sleeping. It wasn't going to happen tonight. He decided he would check up on his friends and make sure they were okay. If there was a presence in the house, he didn't want it to target them because of him.

He walked to Mike and Kevin's room, hoping maybe one of the boys would still be awake. He couldn't hear Mike's snoring, which was a good sign for him. Either the green Ranger was awake, in which case he might be open to talking, or he was having a rare silent night, which meant Kevin was also getting a good night's sleep.

But as he approached the bedroom his began to hear Mike's and Kevin's voices. He stopped before he reached their door, which was open just a crack, and listened carefully.

"I don't think you have to worry," this was Kevin speaking. Jayden could tell easily. "She's a tough kid…"

"She's not a kid," Mike interrupted Kevin, "She's a Samurai. A stupid one at that…"

"I think it's a good thing she's started pushing herself."

"Don't get me wrong, it's amazing. She's amazing. But she's going to hurt herself. If she keeps pushing herself like this…"

"She'll stop when she's had enough."

"She doesn't know the meaning of the word stop. She'll keep going, and going, and going until her body's had enough and it gives in, or someone restrains her."

Jayden chuckled at that last part. It was true, and also the reason why he avoided giving Emily too many sweets and introducing her to coffee. The last thing she needed was an energy boost. She was already bouncing off the walls on most days and it took a lot of energy from everyone else to keep her entertained.

"What about Mia?" Jayden heard Mike asking after a silence. "She was pretty freaked when you were gone."

"She's okay. I think she's just worried about me."

"Are you okay?"

"I have to remind myself that I am. I still can't believe Dekker just let me go… I was useless to him… why didn't he kill me?"

"Don't question it, dude," Mike's voice was comforting. It was obvious he was trying to help his friend, "Just be thankful. Dekker's a creep, but in the unpredictable way. Maybe he had a moment of kindness."

"I still think he's coming back for me… moments of kindness have to end at some point, right?"

"I guess it doesn't help that Jayden keeps mentioning a presence. And that strange note… see you soon… what the hell does that mean?"

"Someone's coming for us… and if it's not Dekker…"

Jayden decided to stop the conversation before the boys really started to worry themselves. He pushed the door open and looked at his teammates.

"You should both be sleeping," he told them without giving them any indication that he had been listening to them.

"Sorry, Jay, we were just…"

"The message means nothing," Jayden lied to them. "You don't have to worry about it. You should be sleeping."

"Did you figure out where it came from?" Kevin asked, "Was it Dekker?"

"No," Jayden wasn't sure of this answer but he would continue to lie if it meant his friends would sleep. They needed their strength.

"You're sure?" Mike asked. "He's got no intention of finishing what he's started? You know, coming back to kill Kevin or…"

Mike couldn't even say the last part but Jayden knew what he meant. He shook his head.

"It's not Dekker. Go to bed."

"What about those voices in your head?" Mike asked.

"It's not voices. I feel a presence."

"Dude, I bet you it's just paranoia. Have you ever been spooked like this before?"

"I've never had a family to be scared for," Jayden shook his head. He reached for the door and looked at his friends, "Now go to sleep. We don't need tired Rangers."

"Especially if you're going crazy," Mike nodded before he rested his head into his pillow. Jayden sighed before closing the door and letting the boys sleep.

He wanted to check up on the girls next. He wanted to make sure they were okay and that there was nothing in their room threatening their safety. He tip-toed silently over to their door and slowly turned the knob. He tried to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake them if they were asleep.

He saw Mia's bed was empty and wondered why. It wasn't made, so she had slept in it at some point. He started to panic, thinking someone had taken her, when suddenly he heard a gasp coming from Emily's side of the room. He turned and found Mia sitting on Emily's bed with a sleeping yellow Ranger in her arms.

"Don't you knock?" Mia growled but her voice was no louder than a whisper. Obviously she didn't want to wake up Emily. "What the hell is wrong with you lately, Jayden? You scared me half to death!"

"Sorry, Mia," Jayden whispered. He closed the door and walked over to the end of the bed, "Why are you here?"

"It's my room," Mia answered. "Why are you here?"

She had a point, so he rephrased his question. He pointed to Emily's bed.

"Why are you there?"

"Here?"

"There," he nodded. Mia glanced down at Emily.

"She couldn't sleep. The painkillers aren't working."

"So, why are you in her bed?"

"This helps her feel better."

"How are you going to sleep, though?" Jayden asked. Mia shrugged her shoulders.

"Sitting up, I guess. As long as Emily's feeling…"

"How long has it been since you've gotten a decent night's sleep? Or any sleep at all?"

He only asked because he knew Mia had been having a hard time lately. When Kevin had gone missing she had worn herself out searching for him, emotionally and physically. That night, even with Kevin home safe and sound, Mia had admitted that she hadn't slept very well. She was too worried about her boyfriend to get a decent sleep.

The following day Dekker had taken Emily and kept her overnight. Mia hadn't gotten much sleep then either. She was too worried about Emily.

When Emily came home Mia still didn't get any sleep. The yellow Ranger had been beaten badly and Mia spent the entire night comforting her and tending to her many injuries. The following night Mia had done the same.

Tonight seemed to be no different from the last two.

Mia shrugged her shoulders as she thought about Jayden's question, "It's been a while."

Jayden gestured to her bed, "Get some sleep now. I doubt Emily's going to wake up if you move her a little."

"Do you want to bet?" Mia challenged. She rubbed Emily's arm, "besides, she isn't sleeping well either. If she wakes up and I'm not here she'll get scared."

Jayden sighed. Mia was just like him. She cared for the others. She cared so much that she always put herself second, even if it meant putting her own safety or health at risk. It wasn't smart, but Jayden understood why she did it. She couldn't help it; just like he couldn't.

But he would help her. They had to help each other. He walked over to the bed and gave Mia a look that told him to trust her. She did and nodded her head while slowly unwrapping her arms around Emily. Very carefully and while trying not to hurt any of Emily's injuries, he lifted her from Mia's arms and laid her flat on the other side of the bed, giving Mia enough room to lie down beside Emily.

"Better?" he asked as he pulled the blankets over Emily.

"I need a pillow…"

"I'll get it," Jayden rushed over to Mia's bed and grabbed her pillow. He handed it to her and watched as she made herself comfortable on her half of Emily's bed. He was thankful Mentor Ji had sprung for double beds for the Rangers, if not there would have been very little room for the two girls to sleep.

"Thanks, Jay," Mia smiled. Jayden nodded his head before leaving the room so Mia could sleep.

When he stepped out into the hallway he felt the presence again. It was a strange energy. He drew his sword and followed his instincts down the hallway.

Something was in the house, and he was going to figure out what.


	59. Antonio's Fresh Fish: Coming Soon

For the other Rangers it was official. Jayden had lost it. He kept telling the Rangers that he sensed a presence in the house, a dangerous presence, but whenever he would turn around there would be nothing there. None of the others felt anything. They were convinced it was his paranoia acting up. He was under a lot of pressure. He had to master the sealing symbol and he knew he was Dekker's number one target. He also had a big heart, making him feel responsible for the safety of the others. Under all that pressure and very little time to unwind, the four other Rangers were sure he was going crazy.

It didn't help them, knowing their leader was losing it. While they never sensed anything in the house, the fact that Jayden claimed he did and constantly reminded them that something was there and they needed to keep their eyes open was starting to mess with their heads. Emily and Kevin especially would be looking over their shoulders every few minutes or whenever they heard even the smallest noise in the house. They had asked Jayden to stop with the presence _"bullshit"_, but he refused, saying he was positive there was something there.

Mia tried to play along for a few days, hoping maybe a little support would help Jayden feel less stressed, less pressured, and he would stop freaking the others out, but Jayden didn't stop. In fact, it got worse. The only time Jayden ever felt relief, he said, was when he would splash his face with water to clear his thoughts.

None of his friends, nor Mentor, was a therapist, but they were positive that Jayden was messed up, and while they could do nothing to help his sanity at the moment, they sure as hell could protect themselves from going mad.

"See you, dude," Mike waved to Jayden as he, Kevin, Mia and Emily walked to the door, "Don't break anything while we're gone."

"Are you sure it's okay to leave him?" Mia frowned as she helped Emily with her sweater. With her injuries it was a two person job. Mike shrugged his shoulders and escorted the girls and Kevin out the door.

"I don't know, but Mentor's still here and at least we'll still be safe," he pointed out.

"I want to have a look at that Gap Sensor again," Kevin said, "You know, the one that went off when there was no Nighlok. It's been bugging me for days!"

-Samurai-

Kevin picked up the little Gap Sensor from the ground and examined it. It was still working perfectly. Nothing should have triggered it unless a Nighlok did turn up. But unless they were in some alternate universe where Nighloks were friendly creatures and no one feared them, there had been nothing the day it went off.

"There really isn't anything wrong with the Gap Sensor," Kevin sighed. He shook his head.

"Well, we must have missed something the last time," Mia said as she looked around.

"The Gap Sensor… that freaky arrow… Jayden tripping…" Mike listed off all the weird events that had been going on lately. He knew they were connected somehow; he just couldn't put the pieces together. Granted, he had never been amazing at puzzles. "Something triggered that Gap Sensor; somebody shot that arrow and Jayden… I mean, he's acting crazy now, but he hasn't let us down yet."

Kevin placed the Gap Sensor back where it belonged and sighed. He looked up at the others, "Just, keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious."

"Define suspicious," Emily sighed. She leaned her back against the railing by the water before she placed her hand on her stomach, "Can we eat now? I don't want to focus on Ranger-killing monsters and freaky letters."

"There's a pizza place a few blocks down," Mike nodded and the others groaned. Of course he would want pizza. He looked at them, "What? We all have favourite foods!"

"Yeah, but you eat yours day and night," Mia chuckled before tapping Mike's stomach as they headed to the pizza place, "I'm wondering where it all goes."

"Four food groups, I'm telling you," Mike grinned, ignoring the man selling fish on the side of the walkway, just like Mia and Kevin. Emily, though, was handed a flyer by the man.

"Hey sweetheart, do you want to buy some fish?" she was asked as the flyer was placed right in her hands. She took it as she walked past and just out of curiosity she looked down at the flyer.

"_Antonio's Fresh Fish_,_"_ the flyer read and written just over the advertizing were the words _"Coming Soon!"_

Emily's heart stopped as she recognised the handwriting. Her hands trembled and she stopped walking. The others didn't notice and continued to walk on. She glanced back at the fish seller and he looked at her. She gave him an awkward smile before running ahead to the others. She grabbed Mike's arm and tugged on it before showing him the flyer.

"Do you want fish?" Mike frowned, unsure why Emily was showing him the flyer. He liked fish, but not on its own. He preferred it as part of a meal. He had seen the fish seller and all he sold was fresh fish. Nothing else.

"No, the writing!" Emily told him, "Look at the writing. It's the same as the arrow."

"Are you sure?" Kevin asked as he reached into his pocket. With Jayden going crazy, Kevin wanted answers. He had gone over recent events in his mind, such as why the Gap Sensor went off and where that arrow could have come from. He couldn't take his mind off the possibility that maybe Dekker was coming back for him, Emily… or even Mike or Mia. So, with his brain constantly at work he needed something to study. He had taken the arrow note from Jayden's room to examine it and hadn't yet returned it. He was thankful he hadn't.

He held it up to the flyer and frowned, "It is the same."

"That's fishy," Mike chuckled. Mia shot him a look and he nodded. He took the flyer from Emily and she took the note from Kevin.

"You two stay here," Mia told the yellow and blue Rangers before they walked back over to the fish seller. She held up the flyer for the man to see, "Do you make these flyers yourself?"

The man turned to her with a smile and nodded, "Yeah, I'm a one-man business."

Mike held up the note, "At least this time the flyer was handed it to my girlfriend instead of shot at her," he placed the note right beside the flyer, "It's not nice to shoot arrows at people."

"That's for sure," the man agreed casually. He turned back to the walkway to hand out more flyers and then suddenly turned his head back to Mia and Mike. He saw Emily and Kevin walking up behind them and the pieces fell into place. "Wait, what? You're, you guys are… No! You're going to ruin my big moment!"

He kicked over the bucket of ice he was using to keep his fish fresh. The cubes of ice slid on the ground and as the Rangers tried to avoid them, they all slipped backwards and landed on the ground. The vendor grabbed his cart and while the Rangers were on the ground, he took off running.

"He's so fast!" Mia cried out when he looked up and noticed he was already gone.

"Where did he go?" Kevin asked as he looked around.

"At least we can tell Jayden we know who wrote that note," Mike sighed. He got to his feet and looked over his shoulder at the back of his shirt. It was soaking wet. The others were all the same way. Ice melted quickly on hot-pavement and warm days.

"How did he get it to the Shiba house, though?" Mia asked. "No one is supposed to know where it is."

"What moment?" Emily frowned. The others turned to her.

"What?"

"He said we were going to ruin his big moment," she looked at Kevin who nodded.

"It seemed like he knew who we were," he said.

"Yeah, the people he shot an arrow at," Mike nodded.

"No, I mean… who we are… what we do," Kevin tried to stay as subtle as possible, but Mike just wasn't picking up on any of the hints. He sighed and shook his head, "Never mind. Let's just see if we can find him."


	60. Gone Fishing

"A fish vendor?" Jayden held the flyer up to the note from the arrow before gazing at his friends. And they thought he was going mad. They had just told him that a fish vendor had possibly figured out they were the Power Rangers and he was maybe going to try and blackmail them or something, given how fast he had run when the others found him. Jayden shook his head and sighed, "Are you serious?"

"You weren't there, Jayden," Emily said, "He knows something. And he shot that arrow at us! You can't say it's not the same writing."

Jayden nodded his head but he still wasn't convinced, not completely. If this so-called fish vendor was actually the person to shot the arrow, maybe he was connected to the strange feeling Jayden was getting, the feeling that there was someone watching him and his friends and the feeling that something bad, horrible even, was going to happen if Jayden didn't figure this out soon. Maybe he was also connected to the lack-of-Nighlok attack. If he was, then he wasn't just a fish vendor.

"There's got to be more to it," Jayden placed the flyer on the table, "We'll need to…"

He paused. Someone was watching him again. That paranoid feeling, as the others called it, it was back.

"You four search for this guy," Jayden said. He needed to get the others out of the house, before this strange energy put them all in danger.

"What about you?" Mia asked. "Don't you want to see what this guy knows?"

"That feeling is back," Jayden answered her. "I have to find it."

"Find what, dude?" Mike frowned, "There's nothing. No one here feels anything. You're the only thing freaking us out right now."

Kevin shot Mike a look before he turned to Jayden, "Mike and Emily will be able to handle the fish-guy. Mia and I will come with you. We don't feel anything, but if there's a chance you're right we'll need to make sure you have some kind of back-up."

"No…"

"Jayden, we're a team, we help each other," Mia reminded her leader. Jayden took a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright. Mike and Emily, you follow that fish vendor. Figure out who he is and what he knows. Mia and Kevin, you two are coming with me. If either party needs help we get in contact as soon as possible. Is that understood?"

The others all nodded before going their separate ways. Red, Blue and Pink together to get to the bottom of Jayden's strange feelings, and Yellow and Green on the search for the fish seller.

-Samurai-

"Where do we start looking?" Emily asked Mike as they stood in the middle of the city hoping to maybe search for a sign of the strange fish vendor. After he had taken off, the Rangers had no idea where he went, or where he was headed. He could have been anywhere at this point. It was possible he wasn't even in town anymore.

"The guy seems to like fish," Mike said, "The arrow smelt of fish, he smelt like fish and he was selling a cartful of fish."

"I have a strange craving for seafood now, thanks," Emily frowned. Mike looked at her and chuckled.

"I'll know where to take you for dinner on our second first date," he smirked. Emily shook her head.

"We need to focus on the fish guy, Mike."

"Right… well, where do fish people hang out?"

"You mean mermaids"

"If that's what you want to call him, sure."

"Well, he dumped a cooler of fresh fish onto the ground when he ran away from us," Emily shrugged her shoulders as she tried to put the pieces together on the spot, "He lost a few of his fish when he did that… maybe he went fishing for more."

"So, the lake or someplace like that?"

"Anywhere with a body of water," Emily nodded.

Mike bit his lip as he looked around. There weren't many fishing places in the city. He only knew of a few, and even those were mediocre at best. If this man they were chasing was really into fishing, he would be in a place where the fish were biting.

He grabbed Emily's hand and pulled her along, "I've got it."

"Ow! Mike! Slow down! That still hurts!"

-Samurai-

"Spring Valley?" Kevin frowned and turned to Mia as the blue and pink Rangers followed Jayden and his "instincts". They still couldn't feel anything weird, unlike Jayden, but they weren't about to let their leader run into trouble on his own.

"I have a plan in mind," Jayden nodded his head, "Hopefully this will work."

"Mind letting us in on this plan of yours, Jay?" Mia asked. "We can't read your mind, you know."

"Just trust me," Jayden smirked. He turned to the lake and approached the water. He looked at Mia and Kevin, "Keep your eyes peeled. It's going to show up, I know it."

With that he walked into the water and dove under. Mia and Kevin exchanged looks as they waited for him to surface. Surely he wouldn't stay under for too long.

"Maybe there's a secret disk or something hidden under the water and he's going to get it?" Kevin suggested when Mia looked at her watch to see just how long Jayden had been under the water for.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Mia nodded her head as she answered sarcastically, "You know, the fire samurai brings the water samurai along to a lake and then the fire guy jumps in and drowns himself trying to search for a secret disk."

"I never said it was a good plan," Kevin shrugged, "I just…"

He was interrupted when a portal opened up and a Nighlok appeared.

"I can't believe he forced us to come to this vile world!" the Nighlok cried out before glancing down at the round mirror he was holding in his hand. He suddenly looked up and saw Mia and Kevin standing before him, Samuraizers at the ready.

"I didn't see you!" he shouted as he held his mirror away from the Rangers. Just as Kevin and Mia were about to morph, Jayden's little lion Zord flew through the air and grabbed the mirror from the monster. "Hey!"

Jayden, fully morphed, jumped out at the water at that moment and struck the Nighlok, knocking him to the ground. The lion Zord tossed the mirror to Jayden who held onto it tightly.

"Give me back my mirror!" the Nighlok cried.

"It's not nice to spy on people," Jayden told the Nighlok as he held the mirror up.

"Wow, Jay, you really have been sensing something," Mia said once she and Kevin were morphed and ready to help Jayden. They held their sword out at the Nighlok. It growled angrily.

"Three on one's not fair!"

"Neither is secretly watching us," Jayden pointed out. He smirked behind his helmet, "Luckily, I managed to see right through you."

He turned to Kevin and Mia to finally explain his plan to them, "Whenever I felt the presence I would splash water on my face. At first I thought it would just wake me up a little bit, but I started to realise that the only time that feeling went away was when I touched water. That's when I realised water could help me block the spell. I knew this was the one place I could truly hide from you, Nighlok."

Mia hit her helmet with her hand, "Of course! The water in our world is more pure than the water of the evil Sanzu River!"

"He fooled our gap Sensor, but not us," Jayden nodded as he tossed the mirror into the air and sliced it to pieces with his sword.

"No! My mirror!" the Nighlok cried angrily, "And I never even got to see you practicing that symbol!"

He turned to the Rangers in rage. This fight had only just begun.

"Fox cyclone!"

The air began to spin and the sand picked up in a massive tornado that lifted the three Rangers off their feet and shot them into the air.

-Samurai-

"Is that him?" Emily asked as she and Mike were ducked behind a rock spying on the man who they believed was the fish vendor fishing in a lake. She turned to Mike, "I think that's him."

"I think so too," he nodded. "You stay here; I'll go see if I can talk to him."

Emily pouted, "Mike, you don't need to protect me..."

"Who said I was protecting you?" Mike smirked. He kissed Emily's cheek, "If this guy is as fishy as he smells, he's not going to know you're here. You're protecting me in case things turn ugly."

Emily smiled, "Oh, I can do that."

"I know you can," Mike said to her before getting up. Emily watched him slowly approach the strange man until her Samuraizer beeped. She grabbed it from her pocket.

"Emily."

"_We need you at Spring Valley! Forget that guy you're chasing!"_

Emily frowned and looked up. Mike was only a few feet away from the man and was seconds from getting his attention. They were so close to figuring out who he was and what he knew, but the others needed help. Mia wouldn't have called unless they were in a lot of trouble.

"Stupid Ranger business," Emily muttered before she jumped up, "Mike, we need to go!"

Her call was heard by both Mike and the fish man. They both turned to her. The fish man seemed slightly surprised they were there, and Mike looked disappointed.

"Are you kidding me?" he grumbled and kicked the dirt, "They couldn't have waited two minutes?"

The fish man jumped up, dropping his fishing rod.

"I can help you!"

"What?" Mike turned to the man, "You're kidding, right? Who are you?"

"C'mon! This is going to be so golden!" the fish man grabbed his cart and bounced over to Emily, "Where are we headed?"

Emily looked at Mike before turning the vendor, "I… uh… Spring Valley?"

"Time for my big moment!" the fish man took off quickly with his cart, leaving Mike and Emily in his dust.

The green Ranger approached Emily and shook his head, "Who is that guy?"

"What moment?" Emily asked. She sighed, "He's strange."

"He's also going after the others," Mike's eyes widened when he realised where the strange man was headed.

"He said he wants to help."

"Would an enemy really tell you he wants to kill you?" Mike looked at the yellow Ranger. She shrugged her shoulders. He shook his head and grabbed her arm. "C'mon!"

"Ow! Mike! Stop doing that!"


	61. Golden Moment

By the time Mike and Emily arrived to the battle to assist their friends, help had already been provided in the form of a gold Ranger. They turned to give each other confused looks as they watched this new Ranger take out several Moogers without doing so much as batting an eyelash. They raced over to him and were suddenly destroyed for seemingly no reason at all.

"He didn't even move!" Mia cried as Mike and Emily rushed over to her and the boys who had been tossed to the ground and demorphed during the fight. Jayden sat up.

"Yes he did," he told Mia and the others, "Just faster than the eye can see. It was the legendary sheath slash manoeuvre."

"But that's impossible!" Kevin cried as he turned to Jayden. The red Ranger shook his head.

"Not anymore."

"He's pretty fast," Mike said as he turned to Emily, "No wonder we were never able to keep up with him."

The Rangers watched as their golden ally took on all the Moogers by himself and proceeded to finish off the Nighlok on his own. They had no idea where he had come from, what he wanted, or why he was helping them, but they all knew one thing: he was good.

What really surprised the Rangers, especially Jayden, was the Megazord battle, when the gold Ranger managed to summon a folding Zord: Octozord. The Rangers were surprised to know there was another folding Zord that had been discovered, and Jayden seemed fixated on the fact that this was _the_ Octozord, not that his friends really knew what he was talking about.

-Samurai-

After the battle the Rangers powered down and approached their golden ally, wanting to know why he had turned up and who he was. Jayden, in particular, seemed interested in discovering the true identity of this new friend.

They found the gold Ranger, still morphed, pulling the same cart the mysterious fish seller had been towing around. Mike and Emily exchanged looks. They had been so distracted by the shiny Ranger that they had forgotten about their fish seller. Only now did they remember he had wanted to help them out.

"You're the fish guy," Mike said when he and the others stopped before the gold Ranger. He nodded his head.

Kevin, though, wasn't as impressed. Sure, the gold Ranger had helped him and his friends out, but he wanted answers.

"Start talking," he demanded, "What's your story?"

The gold Ranger powered down and a smile instantly appeared on Jayden's face as he examined the new ally.

The gold Ranger smiled as well, "I just came to help because of all the Nighloks that have shown up," he admitted as he cast a glance in Jayden's direction, "Guys, I'm on your side. Tell them, Jay."

The four Rangers looked back at their leader and noticed a smile they had never seen him wear before. Jayden nodded his head.

"Is that really you, Antonio?"

Antonio's face shone brighter than his golden suit when Jayden recognised him. He bounced happily, "AH! I knew you would remember me!"

"I can't believe it's really you," Jayden nodded.

"Believe it, baby! I'm back!" Antonio walked past the four Rangers and right up the Jayden, "And I'm ready for some action."

Suddenly, the red Ranger and the Gold Ranger began a friendly spar, showing off their hand-to-hand combat skills to the others. The four Rangers watched on in awe.

"That guy is amazing," Emily commented as she turned to her friends, "I vote he should join our team."

"Wait, he's good today, but one battle doesn't make him a Samurai."

Antonio's Octozord flew out from the fish cart and started drifting through the air around the other Rangers. Emily jumped up and caught it in her hands.

"He's got a Zord, at least," Mia said as she looked at Kevin, "That's got to mean something."

"The guy does know that this _'Octozord'_ is actually a squid, right?" Mike chuckled as he poked the little creature in Emily's hands.

"Hey, what was up with that Nighlok?" Emily asked as she let the Octozord fly over to Antonio and Jayden who had wrestled each other to the ground and were laughing. She looked at Kevin and Mia, "Where did it come from?"

"Apparently Jayden wasn't going crazy when he said he felt a presence," Kevin explained, "That Nighlok was using a mirror or something like that to spy on Jayden. He wanted to watch him use the special sealing symbol."

"So it wasn't Dekker?"

"Definitely not," Mia assured Emily and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, "Although that does make me wonder where Dekker is."

"Let's just be happy he's gone," Mike smiled, "And, if this Antonio guy really is a friend of Jayden's maybe he can help us."

"Like I said, he was good today, but the Samurai have never needed a golden Ranger," Kevin frowned as he turned to Mike. The green Ranger shot his older friend a look.

"Are you seriously going to stick to the rules even if breaking tradition means upping the odds for us?" he asked. "I agree with Emily, this guy's got my vote for team player."

"Why don't we see how he fits with the team before we make any huge decisions," Mia chuckled, knowing this friendly debate between Mike and Kevin could easily escalate if she let them be for too long. "Anyways, we should all be happy Jayden's finally found someone from his past. Maybe he won't feel so along anymore and he'll open up a little more."

"Whatever," Kevin shook his head, "As long as this guy isn't crashing in mine and Mike's room, he can stay, but I still think we should…"

"Loosen up," Emily chuckled, "If he's a friend of Jayden's, he's our friend as well. Let's go say hi."

She grabbed Mike's arm and pulled him along.

"Ow! Emily!" Mike winced as Emily tugged a little harder than necessary to get back at him for pulling her along while they were chasing Antonio, "Stop! I get it! Ow!"

Mia looked at Kevin, "This is really bothering you, isn't it?"

"It's not that I don't want him on the team… it's just… you saw the way he fought, right? He makes Mike look like a skilled Samurai."

"And by skilled, you mean…?"

"I mean, Antonio makes Mike look like a man who knows the way of the Samurai. The techniques, the codes… everything! We can manage with Mike on the team, but can you imagine two unorthodox Samurai?"

Mia wrapped her arms around Kevin's waist, "Only you would worry about that. I admit, he's a little jumpy for my liking, but he's an old friend of Jayden's, he can keep up with Emily and her… constant sugar rush… and just stick him in a corner with Mike during training and don't watch. I'm sure it'll be fine. Now let's go say hi."

Kevin let out a big breath and nodded his head. Mia was right; she usually was. He wrapped his arm around her and walked over to Antonio, Jayden, Mike and Emily. He still wasn't sure about Antonio becoming a member of the team, but the least he could do was give the man a fair chance at proving himself.


	62. Broken Dreams

While it was official that Antonio had Ranger powers, the five Rangers still needed to discuss whether or not he would be able to join the team as an official Samurai Ranger. In the past there had never been a need for a sixth Ranger. All former teams had done really well keeping Master Xandred at bay without the help of a golden Ranger. Adding another colour was a huge decision and couldn't be made without a long and serious discussion.

But, even though the conversation would be all about Antonio, the gold Ranger was nowhere to be seen. The original Rangers all sat around on their stools waiting for him to turn up to the meeting, which he knew was happening this morning, but he wasn't going to show.

Finally, Emily grew impatient, "He's so fast when he's the gold Ranger; I'm surprised he's not already here."

"Just because Antonio showed off when he beat that Nighlok doesn't mean he's fast at everything," Kevin sighed. The others already knew he wasn't warming up to Antonio at all. He had promised to give the man a shot if he made it onto the team, but he was the first to argue against adding a sixth Ranger.

"It's true," Mia agreed with a nod, "we really don't know much about him. But at least Jayden can vouch for him."

Jayden smiled, "Yeah. We were friends from the moment we met," he looked away from the others as his mind began to wander back to the day he met Antonio. He had only been a young boy and he had gone to the market with Mentor Ji. He remembered Antonio's father had been selling fish. The two boys hit it off and soon after their first meeting they would get together and play. Mentor Ji wasn't exactly thrilled about Antonio visiting the Shiba house, though. Jayden could remember how much it would irritate the older man. He would always want Jayden to be focused on training, nothing else.

But Jayden remembered loving whenever Antonio came to visit. He felt like a real kid when his best friend would sneak into the academy and, with two swords, the boys would beat a tree for hours, laughing and pretending it was an evil monster.

Jayden knew Mentor had been relieved when Antonio had to move away, even though it broke Jayden's young heart. He never thought he would see his only friend again. To keep himself from feeling the pain, Jayden had put all his focus on his training. Even today, he still missed his best friend. He had been delighted when he saw Antonio power down and truth be told, he wanted the gold Ranger to join the team, but he understood the risks and what that could potentially do to the team. There was a huge chance that Antonio would weaken the team with his lack of formal training.

"I have a question," Mike's hand shot up in the air, even though this was an open discussion. Jayden snapped back to the conversation and everyone turned to Mike. The green Ranger looked at his leader, "How did he become the gold Ranger?"

"Wait," Kevin shook his head, "He's definitely got some skills, but he's not a true Samurai. It doesn't run in his family and he doesn't have any formal training. Plus, we have no idea what this guy is up to!"

Mentor Ji walked into the room at that point, slapping his stick into his hand impatiently. He seemed annoyed, and the Rangers knew why.

"Antonio is late," he muttered to himself but it was loud enough for everyone to hear. "I can't say I'm surprised."

He looked over at Mike. He knew in the little time Antonio had been here he had bonded with Mike and Emily as well as reconnected with Jayden, "Did he say he was bringing the Octozord with him?" Mentor asked Mike.

The green Ranger shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. Didn't ask him. Why?"

"Well, when Jayden was a boy he gave it to Antonio," Mentor explained before turning an accusing look to Jayden and adding, "when I wasn't looking."

Emily's eyes widened, as did the rest of the Rangers and they too turned to look at Jayden. Emily already knew it was a big deal handing over a folding Zord to another person. When her sister got sick and the Ape Zord needed to be passed down, simply from sister to sister, it had been a hassle. Retraining the Zord and getting it to connect with a new master was a hard enough challenge. She couldn't imagine the trouble it would have been to hand a folding Zord to someone outside the Samurai family.

"You gave him a Zord?" she asked Jayden.

Jayden nodded with a laugh, "Look, I was a little kid. I didn't know any better."

"By the time I found out, Antonio had moved away," Mentor explained to the other Rangers, "I didn't think he would actually figure out a way to activate it. Jayden threatened he would quit being a Samurai if I tried to get it back."

"Like I said," Jayden smirked, "I was a little kid."

"Wow, such a rebel," Mike teased.

"It sounds like you guys were really good friends," Mia said with a smile. She liked the effect Antonio had on Jayden. He brought out a side of their leader that she had never really seen before, and never thought she would see. Jayden was more open, playful and a lot less serious. It made life a little easier for her and the others. "It must have been really hard when he left."

"Yeah," Jayden nodded.

Suddenly, Antonio slid into the room, dressed for a special occasion with a fishing rod in his hands. The other Rangers turned to him when they heard his shoes skidding on the hardwood floor and chuckled at his antics as he swung his fishing rod around like a sword. His technique was definitely strange, but it was entertaining.

Kevin and Mentor Ji, however, were still very unimpressed.

Antonio turned to his audience when his performance finished and grinned, "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce to you the sixth Samurai! The gold Ranger! Me! Antonio Garcia!"

"And you thought I was cocky," Mike whispered to Mentor Ji with a laugh. Mentor could only nod in agreement. Antonio made Mike look like a model student in almost every way.

Antonio rested his fishing rod on his shoulder, unaware that the lure dropped and hooked itself onto his pants. He turned to Jayden.

"Jayden, I would like to join you and your team in the fight against the Nighlok," he said, standing tall and proud before what he believed was his teammates. He pulled his fishing rod forward, wanting to display his swordsmanship skills once again, but heard the sound of fabric tearing. Jayden, Emily and Mia heard it as well and couldn't help but giggle as Antonio tried to figure out where exactly his hook was caught. Mike had a grin on his face, especially when he realised the hook was caught on Antonio's butt. Mentor didn't seem very amused, and Kevin was annoyed.

"Not again," Antonio sighed as he tried to pull the hook off his pants, only to cause the pants to tear even more. He turned to the team, "It's not a big deal, really. It's happened before… not a lot or anything…"

At this point, Antonio was basically giving himself a fishhook wedgie and he was clearly getting stuck in his own rod. His predicament was too much for Jayden to handle. His face was red from laughter and he knew he had to get out of the room before he truly lost it.

"Will you guys help him," he said before leaving. Mentor took this as his chance and decided to follow his Red Ranger outside.

-Samurai-

When mentor JI returned into the room he took Antonio's Samuraizer, promising he just wanted to have a look at it. He had to admit to being impressed by it. He had never met a person who could create a working Samuraizer, especially someone who wasn't a Samurai.

"You were able to make this from what Jayden taught you when studying the Octozord's systems?" he asked the gold Ranger. Antonio, with a big grin on his face, nodded his head.

"It really wasn't that hard."

Mike chuckled, "So, what are you, some kind of techie?" he liked Antonio. They seemed to have a lot in common. They were both a little unorthodox in their training and fighting styles and they loved to clown around and make other people laugh. He was positive that they could become really good friends.

Antonio shrugged his shoulders uncertainly and began playing with his hands as he looked around the room at the others, "I… I don't know. I've just always been good with gadgets…"

His hand accidentally hit the bowl of peanuts that had been placed on the table and knocked them off. Thankfully, Mia, who was sitting next to the bowl, caught them before they could hit the ground. After sharing a room with Emily for several months, she liked to believe she was now programmed to stop accidents like these from occurring.

As she placed the bowl back on the table she turned to Emily and saw a grin on the younger girl's face. Clearly Emily was happy she wasn't the only one making mistakes and making a fool out of herself. Mia knew that was one of the reasons why Antonio and Emily had already bonded. Antonio had just as much, if not more energy than Emily and could easily keep up with her, and misfortune had a habit of following him around as well. She wasn't completely opposed to him joining the team, but if he did she knew the cost of repairs would soar through the roof between gold and yellow.

Antonio turned to Mentor Ji. He knew the decision was Mentor's to make in the end. If he could convince the older man that he deserved to be a Samurai, he would be in for sure.

"I've always wanted to be a Samurai," he said, "I know I wasn't born into it like the others, but I just kept practicing what Jayden had taught me. I was trying to take things to a higher level, but I was really stuck."

"Stuck like fishing rod stuck?" Mike joked as he held up the fish hook and lure that had to be rescued from Antonio's backside.

Antonio laughed, "Yeah. Thankfully, though, I figured out how to talk to Octozord with texting and everything fell into place after that. And now, I am finally ready to join you in the fight against the Nighlok!"

"Yeah!" Mike smiled, pumping his fist in the air.

"It would be great to have you along," Emily nodded.

"The more the merrier," Mike bumped fist with Antonio, but the celebration didn't last long.

Mentor voiced his disagreement, "No. I'm afraid that's simply not possible."

"No?" the smile slipped right off Antonio's face as he turned to Mentor, "What… what do you mean?"

"Antonio, it's just too dangerous to put you out there without the necessary formal training."

"But I don't understand," Antonio jumped to his feet, "Didn't I help you guys win yesterday?"

"You did. But not all battles will be that simple."

Mike scoffed and looked at Mentor, "Simple? That Nighlok was kicking ass before Antonio showed up. I know Em and I weren't there to help, but c'mon, Mentor, you have to admit, it took skills to take that Nighlok out, especially that quickly. Antonio's amazing!"

"He doesn't have the training…"

"But I do!" Antonio shouted to Mentor, "Sure, I did it by myself, but I can hold my own out there and you saw it!"

Mentor didn't seem convinced at all as he held up Antonio's Samuraizer, "I'll hold onto this…"

"No!" Antonio jumped up on the table, ready to lunge at Mentor, but the four other Rangers hoped out of their stools and grabbed him.

"Antonio, stop!" Emily shouted just before they all pushed him off the table and the Gap Sensor sounded. Mentor called up the map and Jayden rushed into the room to collect his team.

"Let's go," Jayden ordered as he rushed out.

From the ground, Antonio called to his best friend. Jayden stopped and turned. He cast a quick glance at Mentor Ji and noted the older man's expression before he looked at Antonio.

"Jayden… I can come with you, right?" Antonio asked his friend.

Jayden took a deep breath and his hesitation was long enough for Antonio to add, "Tell Ji how you made me a Samurai and you want me to fight by your side!"

"Ji is right," Jayden sighed. He couldn't look at Antonio as he said this. He knew this would destroy his friend. He had promised Antonio everything; he knew this was the man's dream. However, he understood that it was a dream that was unattainable. "I'm so sorry, but you're not a Samurai and we don't need a sixth Ranger."

"But…"

"I'm sorry," Jayden repeated before he left. Kevin and Mia were quick to follow. Jayden and Ji had both made their decisions; they were going to have to accept it.

Mike and Emily weren't so sure. They exchanged looks and Mike slowly turned to follow Jayden and the others.

Emily turned to Antonio. She felt bad for him. She knew the lack-of-formal training excuse was bullshit. Sure, she had been trained by her mother, but only for a few years before she came to the Shiba house. She knew most of her training had been done here, by her friends. Antonio was a great Samurai already, better than she had been when she first arrived. There was no reason why he couldn't be trained, just like her. Mentor was just being stubborn and Jayden was just being a puppet.

She gave the fisherman a sympathetic look before she turned to the door and followed the others. Hopefully this wasn't the end of the conversation.

With his dreams crushed, Antonio grabbed his things. He shot Mentor a nasty look before walking out of the house with his head hung low.


	63. Antonio's Pep Talk

While the Rangers were out battling the Nighlok, Antonio sat by the pier, looking out at the water. He had his fishing rod in his hand and his cart and cooler by his side. In the cooler, Octozord sat comfortably, looking around.

Antonio growled, "Mentor and Jayden said they don't need me. And they took away my Samurai Morpher!" he turned to Octozord, "What was I thinking, anyway? I could never be a real Samurai…"

Over by the end of the dock, Emily and Mike were looking out at Antonio. From where they were standing they could tell he was hurt and upset. They couldn't blame him. His best friend had basically told him that all his hard work was for nothing and his dreams had just been crushed. All Antonio wanted to do was help Jayden, and he had been turned down and shunned.

After Nighlok disappeared back to the Sanzu River to rehydrate, Emily and Mike opted not to return home with the others. Emily felt bad for Antonio and wanted to help him feel better, and Mike followed her. Aside from Jayden, they were closest to him. They figured if he would listen to anyone at this point, it would be him.

Unlike Jayden, Mia and Kevin, they wanted him to join the team. There were absolutely no objections from them. He was talented, fast, amazing and funny. Both of them understood the value of "formal training", as Mentor called it, but neither of them truly believed that was what it took to become a Samurai.

Mike was already different in that sense. He challenged the rules and codes of the Samurai every day with his unusual way of training. Instead of using technique and patterns, Mike would do what came to him naturally. He would swung the sword, attack his opponents and give the fight everything he had. He didn't care if his feet were in the right position or if there was a more effective way of holding his sword. As long as his style got the job done and none of his friends were hurt, he considered himself a good Samurai.

He also loved to have fun while training. He was someone who learned best when the lesson was taught in a way that was enjoyable. Things would be a lot clearer to him when he was having a good time, and everyone had accepted the fact that Mike would always be a little different.

Emily was the same way. While she wanted to be treated as an equal, she knew she was still the kid; the little sister of the team. She lived up to her title too, just by being herself. She loved to move. Mia would always describe her as the _bouncy one_. She enjoyed goofing off and having fun when she was given down time, and training for her was a chore. And, just like every kid, she hated doing chores. She wouldn't learn when Mentor or Jayden would drone on and on about a new technique she needed to master, and no matter how many times they showed her, even if they took it step by step, she would never pick up on it as quickly as she would when training was fun. Her training usually consisted of jumping around and incorporating new techniques while she swung her sword and tried to catch up to Mike.

Of course, both Mike and Emily trained with the others, and sometimes they knew they had to follow the regular training schedule, but when they trained together, they were different from the others. Their style was unorthodox. It was different. Mentor, Jayden, Mia and Kevin accepted them, so it struck them as odd and unfair that they wouldn't accept Antonio.

"You know, he might not listen to us," Mike said to Emily as they slowly walked along the dock. Emily looked up at him and nodded his head.

"I know, but we have to try! You saw how hurt he looked when Jayden said he couldn't come along."

"Yeah," Mike nodded his head and just before they reached Antonio he grabbed her arm and stopped her. She spun around and looked at him, "It's nice of you to want to help him, you know that, right?"

"I'm not just doing it to be nice," Emily said. She glanced over her shoulder at Antonio, "He deserves to be a Samurai! After all those years of training, I think he's earned his place. Sure, he trained himself, but he's just as good as us… maybe better, really. I mean, he trained himself."

Mike chuckled. Emily had a good point. Antonio had skills that matched his and the others, and he had no one to show him the ropes since he was a little boy. It took talent to reach his level of training, especially without a Sensei or mentor to teach him.

"Alright, then," Mike nodded his head and took Emily's hand, "Let's go help this guy get what he wants. Lead the way."

Emily smiled and bounced over to Antonio.

Antonio heard the thumping on the wooden dock and turned, surprised to find Mike and Emily. He closed the cooler on Octozord and got to his feet.

"What do you guys want?" he asked them. Mike looked at Emily and she nodded her head.

"We came to talk to you," she smiled sweetly, showing Antonio she was here to help him, unlike the others.

"You guys all made it pretty clear you don't want me," Antonio lowered his head and turned away from the two Rangers. "I guess I should have known this would be the outcome. Being a Samurai isn't in my blood. It's not who I was born to be."

"I wasn't exactly born to be a Samurai either," Emily said. Antonio frowned and turned to look at her. He shook his head.

"But the Samurai is a family tradition. Jayden told me it was passed down from parent to child for generations!"

"Yeah," Emily nodded. "Parent to child. Parent to child. Parent to child… Sister to sister."

Antonio furrowed his brow a little more.

Emily decided to explain to him, "I was never supposed to be a Samurai… I have an older sister."

"You… you do?"

"She does," Mike nodded. He wrapped his arms around Emily, knowing this was going to be a little difficult for her. She could talk about Serena for hours on end, unless he had to talk about Serena's illness. He knew how much it upset her to think about her sick sister back at home.

"My older sister, Serena, trained her whole life to be the yellow Samurai Ranger while I lived out my life as a regular kid. I didn't start my training until Serena got really sick, and it became obvious to my mother that there was no way Serena would ever be well enough to take up her responsibilities as the yellow Ranger. By the time I started training I was already eight. It took a few years for me to learn how to use symbol power, and now, a few years later, I'm here, saving the world."

"But you were still trained by a Samurai," Antonio shook his head, "Your mother was the yellow Ranger before you, right? Surely you came here prepared and…"

Emily laughed, "Yeah, like any of us were ready."

Mike nodded his head, "Dude, do you really think we became Samurai Rangers over night? We're still training every day. I don't know who Mentor's trying to fool with this formal training bullshit."

"Being a Samurai means everything to you," Emily touched Antonio's arm and offered him a kind smile, "I know that with a little more effort you can take your place as the sixth Ranger. You're no different from the rest of us. Just because you weren't born into a Samurai family, doesn't mean this isn't your destiny."

"Dude, you're probably the only Samurai who really wants to be a Samurai," Mike smiled, "I mean, we were all chosen, sort of, but sometimes I really wish I didn't have to do this. Sometimes I wish I could just have a regular life, you know. If there's anyone who's really going to be dedicated to his training, it's going to be you."

"I say you storm back into the Academy and you take back what belongs to you," Emily said. She bounced slightly on her heels. This talk was supposed to be a pep talk for Antonio, but she couldn't but feel pumped by her own words. She looked the gold Ranger in the eye, "You've already earned your place. You just have to take it."

Antonio was starting to learn what the others already knew. Emily's optimism and her spirit were contagious. He couldn't help but agree with her as he nodded his head and grabbed his fishing rod and cart.

"She's right, Octozord!" he said to the cooler where his folding Zord was hiding, "We're not going to sit here and wish things were different. We're going to go back there and prove ourselves!"

With a bounce in his step, Antonio raced off the dock and headed back to the house. Emily and Mike chuckled as they watched him leave. Just as Emily was about to follow, Mike pulled her back into her arms.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear.

"I love you too," Emily laughed, "But where is this coming from?"

"Watching you lift his spirits," Mike answered her. "You really helped him out."

"I couldn't stand to see him excluded for no good reason," Emily shrugged. "I know how much it hurts."

"Yeah, I know that too," Mike nodded. "You did a good thing."

"Thanks. After I started training, Serena always told me that my most important job would be to help people. I knew Antonio just needed a little help."

"You know, you may not have been the first choice to be the family Samurai, but I think it was always your destiny," Mike grinned. "After all, what would we do without you?"

"Hopefully you never have to find out," Emily grinned. She pulled out of Mike's arms, "Now come on, slow poke, Antonio is the fastest and he's already got a head start! Do you want to lose this race?"

"We're racing home?" Mike asked as Emily started jogging backwards. She nodded her head.

"We are now! Last one home has to water Mentor's bonsais for a month! All of them!"

"I am so doomed!" Mike cried as he took off after Emily.


	64. The Sixth Ranger

While Mia didn't disagree with Jayden and Mentor's decision to deny Antonio a spot on the team, she didn't fully agree with it either. However, after their latest battle with a Nighlok, she knew Master Xandred was getting stronger, and his Nighloks were also more powerful. The last one had no problems defeating her, Emily and the boys and, had he not dried up, he most likely would have defeated them. It wasn't her choice to make, but maybe adding Antonio onto the team wasn't such a bad idea. If formal training was all he needed to be a Samurai she was sure she and the others could give him a few quick lessons to sum up all the basics.

She knew Kevin wasn't going to agree with what she was about to do, but she had to think about the entire team. So while he was busy in the training room, Mia stepped out of the house and found Jayden sitting on the bench staring at Antonio's Samuraizer.

"It must have been hard for you," she said, grabbing Jayden's attention, "having to send your friend away like that."

"I had no choice," Jayden sighed, "he's not a real Samurai."

He got up from the bench and placed the Samuraizer in his pocket as he walked over to the training swords. He grabbed two, one for himself and one for Mia.

"It's like Ji said, having him around could be dangerous, not only for him, but for us as well."

"You've known Antonio forever," Mia said as she prepared for her spar with Jayden, "The idea of him getting hurt must bother you."

"Of course," Jayden gave Mia a knowing look, "He's my friend."

He lunged at her with the sword, but Mia blocked all his shots before they both locked swords. Mia looked Jayden in the eyes.

"Leading us in dangerous missions is hard on you," she said to him. She knew him well. She had seen the way he reacted when each of their friends got hurt. It changed him every time. When Kevin and Mike had taken a hit for him he had been so wracked with guilt he ran away from home for quite a while. When Kevin was kidnapped by Dekker, Jayden had been worried for his friend's safety. When Emily had been taken, he had been furious and was ready to face the warrior in his rage. She knew it wasn't easy for him to put other lives at risk, especially when they were in danger because of him. He was the target.

Mia continued, "Putting an old friend like him at risk too, that's too much pressure," she said before breaking the lock and swinging at Jayden. She hit the back of his knee and he fell to the ground. She pointed her sword at him. He was defeated. "I hit the nail on the head, didn't I?"

"No, you hit me in the knee," he slapped her sword away and got back to his head. "You can think what you want. This is my decision."

"She's right, and you know it!" Jayden heard Antonio's voice tell him and he turned to see his best friend was back at the Academy. A smile appeared on his lips for a quick moment, but faded just as quickly. Antonio couldn't be here.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn, Jayden," Antonio asked as he approached Jayden, "I know the risks. You need my help!"

"Antonio, we've already talked about this…"

Jayden was interrupted when he saw Emily, and then Mike, racing into the backyard. It didn't take long for him to figure out where they had been and what they had done.

"We're saving the world, here," Mike said between breaths as he doubled over and placed his hands on his knees, "How can an extra Ranger not help?"

"Jayden," it was Mia's turn once again to try and convince Jayden to add a new Ranger, "Antonio accepts the risks, just like all of us. You're our leader, but that doesn't make you responsible for what we choose to do."

"Well said, pretty lady," Antonio grinned. Mia gave him a look and Mike gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"She's taken, dude," he chuckled.

"I'm not sure that I can…"

"Jayden, he doesn't have the training," Jayden was starting to think he would never finish another sentence again as Emily interrupted him, "but none of us really do. Isn't that why we train every morning anyways? What makes Antonio different?"

Before Jayden could even think of an answer to Emily's question the gap Sensor went off. He glared up at the flashing device and cursed its timing.

He heard Antonio's voice over the loud beeping of the sensor, "Please, just give me my morpher. I won't let you down! This has been my dream. It always has been."

Jayden took a deep breath and realised his friends were right. There was no reason why Antonio couldn't join the team. And anyways, Jayden had pinkie promised to let Antonio be a Samurai back when they were kids. He couldn't go back on his word.

He pulled the Samuraizer out of his pocket and, with a smile, he handed it to Antonio, "You are the sixth Samurai."

"Muy bueno!" Antonio bounced excitedly as he grabbed his Samuraizer from Jayden and rushed out the door, leading the charge into battle.

Jayden chuckled to himself as he watched his best friend run off. He looked over his shoulder at Mike, Mia and Emily. They were also smiling and happy Antonio was on the team.

He caught a look from Kevin who rushed out to see if they were all coming. It was obvious from the look on his face he had seen Antonio with his Samurai Morpher and he wasn't very pleased.

-Samurai-

The battle had ended with positive results. Not only did Antonio prove he had the skills to fight alongside the Rangers, but thanks to the Octozord, the Rangers were able to make a new Megazord combination.

As a celebration, Antonio was grilling fish on the barbeque for all the Rangers; all the Rangers except Kevin who still wasn't warming up to Antonio. There was something about Antonio that drove Kevin crazy. Maybe it was his strange technique (or lack-thereof) that made Mike look disciplined, maybe it was his never ending supply of energy that made Emily look slow, or maybe it was the fact that Antonio walked in and got a spot on the team, meanwhile Kevin had to train his entire life to earn this position.

He kept his distance from the others as he ate a sandwich. He knew there was nothing he could do now that Antonio was on the team, but that didn't mean he had to socialise with the new Rangers. He huffed loudly as he took another bite from his sandwich.

Mia, with her plate of grilled fish and vegetables, walked over and took the seat next to Kevin.

"He bugs you."

"You just noticed?" Kevin frowned. Mia shook her head and laughed.

"Of course not," she said, "but don't you remember how much Mike bugged you at first. You warmed up to him."

"Mike's different. He's one of us. Antonio's…"

"He's one of us too," Mia smiled, "You're just going to have to get used to it again."

"He just rubs me the wrong way," Kevin sighed. "I don't have to like everyone who joins this team. I think we should all just be happy that I like Mike. Why push our luck with Antonio?"

"Antonio is Jayden's friend. I think it's nice he's got someone from his past to hang out with," Mia shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the barbeque, where the others, even Mentor Ji, were having fun. Antonio had turned one of his raw fish into a puppet and was currently teasing Emily, who was trying her best to stay as far away from the slimy creature as possible while the others laughed.

Kevin could only growl, "Doesn't he know she already has a boyfriend?"

"I'm sure you'll tell him if he doesn't," Mia laughed, "It wasn't that long ago you disapproved of Mike. Now you prefer him?"

"I would prefer anyone over Antonio," Kevin nodded.

Mia rolled her eyes, "He was hitting on me earlier," she could see Kevin becoming tense as she said this and laughed. She wrapped her arms around his and rested her head on his shoulder, "Relax, Mike set him straight, and I don't think he really meant anything. That's just who he is. I mean, if I didn't know better, I would think he was flirting with Jayden sometimes, too."

"Maybe he is," Kevin shrugged, "Hopefully he is. Then I won't have to worry."

"You have nothing to worry about," Mia said as she kissed his cheek. "I'm staying right here."

She picked up her plate from her lap and offered it to Kevin, "I know you don't like the guy, but can you at least try some of his fish. It's really good."

"Better than when you and I cook?"

"Definitely," Mia grinned and she could feel Kevin becoming tense once again. She laughed, "But hey, that just means we have to practice more. What do you think?"

"Well, when you put it that way…" Kevin nodded his head and smiled at Mia before taking a bite of her fish. It was good; better than anything he had tasted since he came to the Shiba house which only meant he and Mia needed more practice and more time alone in the kitchen.

Back by the barbeque, the fish puppet was finally being grilled and Emily could rest easy knowing it wasn't going to haunt her for the rest of the day. She finished her meal and watched as Jayden and Antonio grilled the fish together, teasing and making fun of each other like old friends. She was proud of her work, reuniting the two of them. It was nice seeing Jayden had a friend. Someone he could connect with.

She looked over at Mike and smiled at him. He smiled back and set his plate down.

"Antonio, that was delicious," he said. "You are definitely doing this more often."

"My pleasure, amigo," Antonio nodded his head as he took a seat with his plate of food. "I've always loved seafood. Whenever I wasn't training to be a Samurai, I was practicing grilling fish."

"Well, you've definitely mastered this skill, no doubt about it," Mike pointed to his plate and rubbed his stomach, "A+ from me, dude."

"Yeah, this was really good," Emily nodded her head.

"Gracias,"Antonio smiled, "And while we're at it, thank you to the both of you for talking some sense into me."

"We didn't do anything," Emily shrugged, "We just reminded you that you can't give up on your dreams."

"But your pep talk worked," Antonio said, "If you two hadn't of come after me and talked some sense into me, I would have been long gone at this point."

"Just don't do like Jayden over there and run away from us when things get a little complicated," Mike teased. "Master Xandred surely knows about you now and he's probably going to send in some stronger monsters. We'll need all the help we can get."

"And I'm ready to help," Antonio smiled. He looked over at Jayden, "I've always wanted to fight with you and the other Samurai!"

"You two have a lot of catching up to do," Mike said as he began grabbing empty plates from the table, "Why don't you both catch up while Em and I do the dishes?"

"Really?" Emily whined, "That's no fun. I want to hear what Jayden was like as a kid."

"He'll tell you another time, Em," Mike smirked as he handed her some plates, "Come with me, please."

"But…"

"Don't make me make you."

"You wouldn't," Emily glared at Mike for a moment until a smile curled up on his lips and he lunged at her. Her grabbed her and picked her up.

"C'mon," he said as he lifted her onto his shoulder. The plates had fallen to the ground but he would pick them up later. He just wanted to talk with her privately.

"Put me down!" Emily giggled as she tried to squirm out but it was no use. She huffed loudly as she gave up and looked at Jayden and Antonio, "I hate being short."

Mike smirked and carried her inside until they reached the common room. He set her down on her stool and took the seat beside her.

"Mike, this isn't the kitchen and I don't have the dishes anymore," Emily said to Mike as he grinned.

"I know," Mike smiled, "I just wanted to talk."

"What about?"

"You helping fish brains."

"Again?"

"You brought up Serena," Mike said, "I want to make sure you're okay."

Emily nodded her head, "Yeah, I'm okay. I knew I was going to have to talk about her before we got to the docks. As long as it helped Antonio, I'm fine."

"You compared yourself to him, though," Mike said, "You told him you weren't chosen to be a Ranger, just like him… why?"

"Because this is Serena's destiny," Emily shrugged and gave Mike a look that told him the answer was obvious. "The powers belong to her. She trained her whole life. Mom wanted her to be a Ranger. I was just… you know… there."

"I think you're wrong," Mike said with a smile. "I think everyone was wrong. If Serena was supposed to be a Samurai Ranger, she would be one. Fate stepped in for a reason, Emily."

"Are you saying I made my sister sick?"

"Not at all," Mike shook his head and denied Emily's statement before he upset her. "Fate's a bitch sometimes. It always works in strange ways. But maybe, just like Antonio, this was always your destiny."

Mike leaned in and kissed Emily.

"But hey, whether it is or not, I'm glad you showed up instead of your sister."


	65. Play Nice

His bruises hurt more and more as his frustration grew. Kevin didn't understand why he had to train with Antonio while Mia sparred with Jayden. It was obvious he didn't like the guy. Why did everyone insist he spend as much time as possible with him?

Antonio struck him again in the arm and Kevin growled. He tried to swing at the gold Ranger, but he missed again and Antonio laughed. Kevin felt like he was being taunted or toyed with. He knew Antonio was enjoying this, and the others probably were as well.

When Antonio hit him again, Kevin fell to his knees. He pounded his fists into the ground.

"Dammit!"

"Language, Kevin," Mike teased him playfully as he took a sip of water from the green bottle. He smirked at Kevin, "Weren't you the one who told me a Samurai had an endless supply of self-control… or something like that?"

"Shut up, Mike," Kevin growled. He used his sword for support as he got back to his feet. He glared at Antonio, "How the hell am I supposed to hit you when you keep moving around like that! Can't you just stand still?"

Antonio's gaze shifted from side to side before he shook his head.

"I thought the point was to avoid getting hit," he looked over at Jayden, "I mean… that's what you taught me, right, Jay?"

"Antonio is right, Kevin," Jayden nodded, "He's not supposed to let you hit him."

"Well, he could at least do things properly," Kevin muttered, "Training with him is like trying to catch a caffeinated squirrel. He just keeps… moving."

"It's called staying on your toes," Antonio grinned, "it keeps you ready and makes you faster."

"I know," Kevin tossed his sword to the ground. "I know what you're trying to do; you're just not doing it right! Forget this. I'm sore; I'm done."

"Kevin," Mia sighed as she watched Kevin storm back into the house. She gave Antonio an apologetic look before chasing after the blue Ranger.

"Kevin," she called to him as she followed him to the kitchen, "Kevin! That was kind of rude."

"I couldn't do it anymore," Kevin shook his head. He reached into the freezer and grabbed an ice pack. He placed it on his side, where Antonio had really hit him hard. "It's like training with Mike all over again. It's frustrating. Why can't you just stick those two guys in a corner and let them duke it out?"

"We're all going to have to train with Antonio at some point," Mia shrugged her shoulders. She hopped up onto the counter, "Personally, I think his style is interesting. He's not predictable."

"So I'm predictable?" Kevin frowned. Mia tilted her head, wondering how she was going to worm her way out of this one.

"Um… well… we're all following the same technique… I mean, it's nice to train with someone who finally forces us to think when we fight… you know."

"No," Kevin growled. He tossed the ice pack into the sink, "I'm going to go shower. You better finish up your training with fish breath, out there."

"Kevin, you know what I mean," Mia sighed, but it was too late. Kevin was already gone. She groaned loudly and dropped her head back. She loved him dearly, but sometimes he was too stubborn for his own good.

She convinced herself this was just a phase he would get over and hopped off the counter before walking outside. She noticed the others were done their training at this point and were sitting around in the grass, having a fun time.

Antonio's laughter stopped when he saw Mia.

"Is he mad at me?"

"Don't worry about it," Mia reassured him, "He's just being Kevin."

"I've been there, dude," Mike said while patting his gold friend on the shoulder, "Just promise me you won't let him drive you so mad you run away and push the girl you like down a ravine."

"Yes, for her sake, please don't run away," Emily winced at the memory, "I still have bruises."

"You always have bruises," Mike teased her before poking her in the ribs. Emily screeched and jumped right into his arms.

"Michael, stop it!"

"Kevin's slow to warm," Jayden explained to his best friend, "He'll get used to you, just like he got used to everything and everyone else. It just takes some time for him to do that."

"Until then, just try to keep your distance," Mia advised the gold Ranger, "An angry Kevin isn't something you're ready to face just yet."

-Samurai-

Just before dinner, Emily and Mia were hanging out in their bedrooms, looking for a little peace while the boys took up the common room. Mike and Antonio had taken over the TV and were playing video games, and Jayden was watching them, which surprised almost everyone. Normally on nights like these he would usually be locked up in his room working on new training lessons for the following day or week. But Antonio brought out another side to Jayden. A side that seemed more relaxed and ready for fun than anyone had ever seen. Mia and Emily just assumed he was only trying to spend more time with his long-lost best friend.

Mia was on her bed reading a book. She rarely had much time to read some of the books she brought from home, but with Kevin isolating himself from everyone, and Antonio keeping the others busy, she had a lot more free time on her hands.

Emily had been bored until she rediscovered her letter from her sister. Mia had hidden it back when Emily had been deeply upset and scared about losing someone she loved, and both girls had completely forgotten about it until now. Mixed emotions began to surface as she read the letter.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door before Kevin stepped in.

"Why aren't you guys with Antonio?" he asked bitterly. Emily just waved her letter and Mia shrugged.

"He's with the guys. Why aren't you with them?"

"You know he pisses me off," Kevin sighed. He sat down beside Mia on her bed, "I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I know you were just trying to help."

"It's fine, Kevin," Mia assured him, "To be honest, I kind of saw it coming."

"Still, that doesn't make it right," he leaned in for a kiss until Emily cleared her throat.

"I'm sitting right here."

"Sorry, Em," Kevin chuckled.

Emily put her letter down as she looked up at Kevin, "So, why don't you like Antonio?"

"Personally, the guy's okay," Kevin sighed. He looked over to Mia for a moment, "Professionally, he's a whack job."

"He's just different," Mia told him. She wondered how many times she was going to have to tell him this before it really sank in. She knew Kevin was slow to warm, but she figured after the whole Mike incident he would be a little more open to the carefree individuals.

"There's only so much room on this team for different," Kevin shrugged, "We already have Mike for the _What the Fuck_? factor. We have Emily for endless energy. We have Jayden for protective leader, I'm the 'technique guy', and you're the kind and caring one. Our team works. Antonio's just… All I can say is: if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

"We didn't fix it," Mia said, "We're improving it."

"That's fixing it."

"We're making it better."

"It was already good."

"We want great."

"We have great."

Emily shook her head sadly, "This is going nowhere. I should have just let you guys kiss."

"Look Kevin," Mia sighed when she too realised their bickering wasn't doing anyone any good. She looked at her boyfriend, "Can't we just agree to be civil around Antonio? You don't have to like him, but just play nice when you're around him, okay? He's a good friend to Jayden, he keeps Mike busy and we don't mind him."

"I like him," Emily chirped with a grin on her face, "His fish puppets though… those I can live without."

"I can't argue with that," Mia chuckled. She looked over to Kevin, "So, what do you say? Can you put your feelings for Antonio aside? Maybe he'll grow on you."

"I make no promises about ever liking him," Kevin crossed his arms over his chest, "But, if it'll make your life easier I guess I can keep it cool while I'm around him."

"Good," Mia smiled. She leaned into Kevin as he wrapped his arms around her. He quickly glanced over at Emily who was staring back at them with a knowing look. He chuckled and grabbed one of the smaller blankets from the end of Mia's bed and tossed it to Emily. It draped itself over her head, covering her completely. While she was blinded, Kevin leaned in to kiss Mia.

Emily crossed her arms and huffed before picking up her letter once again.

"I think I like it better under here anyways," she muttered, knowing what was going on outside of her blanket shield.


	66. Only Funny Until Someone Gets Hurt

"Can you please explain to me why I have to carry the massive bag of flour?" Emily whined. She was trying her best to keep the ten kilogram bag from slipping out of her hands and smashing onto the ground as she and Kevin walked into the house after doing the groceries, but the whole idea concerning flour was to keep it from sticking onto fingers and surfaces, making it much harder to grip, especially when the bag itself was covered in a thin coat of flour.

"Because I have the rest of the groceries," Kevin lifted all the bags he was carrying in his hand to show Emily before he turned to the door. He set the bags down and searched himself for his keys, "Besides, you'll probably eat half the cupcakes that bag of flour makes. It's only fair."

"Yeah, but you and Mia are the ones making the cupcakes," Emily frowned. "If you don't make cupcakes, I won't eat them."

Kevin furrowed his brow as he put the keys in the lock. She had a point, but he wasn't going to let her win. Not this time.

"Well, I'm bigger and older, so what I say goes," he opened the door and picked up the groceries once again. He carried them inside and before he reached the kitchen he could smell fish being grilled on the barbeque outside. He knew Antonio was making lunch and so he had already prepared himself to face the gold Ranger. He would eat his food, but he would only address the gold Ranger if he needed to. Until then, he would keep his mouth shut and keep his focus on his friends and girlfriend.

"A little help!" he called to the residents of the house. He heard footsteps approaching the kitchen as he set the bags on the counter. He chuckled when Emily placed the bag of flour down and it landed on the counter with a loud thump and a cloud of flour burst in the air.

"I'm never grocery shopping with you again," she coughed before looking down at her shirt, "I don't like being the white Ranger."

As she tried to brush the flour off her shirt and out of her hair, Mike and Jayden walked in and started unpacking the groceries. Kevin noticed there were two Rangers missing. He glanced around the kitchen and waited a few moments before he realised they weren't going to show.

"Where's Mia?"

"She's with Antonio," Jayden explained. He was quickly scolded by Mike when the green Ranger smacked him in the chest.

"I told you, we don't want to piss Kevin off."

Kevin glared at the boys, "Mia's a big girl, she can hang out with whoever she wants."

"Does Antonio know Mia can't cook without help?" Emily asked when, from the window, she saw Mia was outside with Antonio, helping with the barbeque. Kevin turned to her.

"Why do you ask?"

"Mia's grilling fish!" Emily giggled as she turned to Kevin and pointed out the window. "It actually smells good!"

"She's what?" Kevin's face fell as he rushed over to the window, shoving Emily aside to get a look. There, by the barbeque, Antonio was teaching Mia how to grill fish properly. Kevin's blood began to boil. Cooking was something he and Mia did together. He was her teacher, not Antonio. "That son of a bitch!"

"Relax, Kevin," Mike chuckled, "Antonio's the fisherman. Of course she would want to learn from him. He promised to give me lessons tomorrow."

"Antonio's harmless," Jayden assured the blue Ranger. "He's just helping her while you were out."

"I still don't like this," Kevin stomped over to the door and stormed outside. Just as he was about to yell at Antonio, though, Mia saw him and smiled. She lifted a plate from next to the barbecue and held it out for him.

"You're home!" she beamed brightly, "I want you to be the first to try it!"

She gave the plate to Kevin. He looked down at it and couldn't help but smile. It looked good – amazing, even.

"Antonio gave me a few pointers," Mia admitted, "But I cooked this one all by myself."

"It looks good, Mia," Kevin nodded. He grabbed one of the forks that had been laid out on the table and took a quick bite. He had to admit, the fish, though it was prepared with the help of the man he loathed almost as much as Dekker, tasted great. "Wow, this is good!"

"Really?" Mia asked. Kevin saw a glimmer in her eyes and it stirred up so many emotions. He couldn't be angry when Mia was happy, but he knew what was making her happy. Antonio had taken over. He was teaching Mia how to cook. He had no right to step in.

"Come and get it!" Antonio called when Mike, Jayden and Emily stepped out from the house. He placed their plates on the table and took a seat, "Get it while it's hot."

"This looks good, again," Mike smiled as he took a seat next to Emily and dug in while excusing himself from using any of the table manners he had been taught as a child. The food looked delicious and he was starving.

"Mike, you weren't raised in a barn," Mia scolded the younger boy as she took a seat with the others. She held Kevin's hand and pulled him into the ground, hoping he would remain civil with Antonio. She looked across the table at Emily to exchange looks of disappointment but saw her little sister was still covered in flour. "What happened to you?"

"As long as you and Kevin make me my cupcakes, it was worth it," Emily grinned. She shot Kevin a look, "He made me carry the big bag of flour into the house. I think there's a little hole in it."

"You made her carry the flour?" Jayden chuckled as he turned to Kevin, "That massive thing was as big as her."

"I carried in all the groceries," Kevin shrugged as he picked at his food. Antonio noticed Kevin playing around with the food on his plate and frowned.

"Are you sure it's good?" he asked the blue Ranger carefully. He didn't want to step on Kevin's toes; not when he knew he was already walking on eggshells. "I can make you another one..."

"It's good," Kevin growled, "I wouldn't lie to Mia, especially not about her cooking."

"Okay…" Antonio backed away and grabbed the bowl of veggies. He looked over at Mia, "What's the deal with your cooking anyways? You told me not to leave you alone but…"

"Let's just say fine cuisine isn't something my family's ever been introduced to," Mia answered him. "All you need to know is that you'll need to steer clear of holiday dinners when my grandmother is in the kitchen."

"Noted," Antonio nodded. "But if you can't cook, why insist?"

Mia shrugged her shoulders. She looked over at Kevin and Emily before turning back to Jayden.

"It's just something I want to learn. I don't plan on being a Samurai forever."

"What do you want to do after this, then?" Antonio asked. It had never really occurred to him until just now that the Samurai thing while it was a way of life it wasn't the only thing the other Rangers could focus on for their entire lives. Emily and Mike had already told him they sometimes wished they could be normal. He never realised that meant they actually had dreams that didn't involve being Samurai.

"Nothing big," Mia shrugged once again, feeling very nervous. The others already knew what she dreamt about having once her Samurai duties were done, but that didn't keep her from fearing Antonio might not be so accepting. Growing up her friends used to tease her all the time about wanting to find the perfect husband and settle down. It wasn't a big dream. It wasn't like being an astronaut or a fire fighter. It was normal.

"What is it?" Antonio pressed.

"I want the perfect wedding," Mia said, her voice slightly louder than a whisper. "I want to find my prince charming and settle down… start a family… be a mom…"

Antonio had to suppress a laugh, "That… that's it? You dream of ordinary? And I thought my dream of being a Samurai was weird."

"Antonio," Emily kicked the gold Ranger under the table and shot him a look, "It's a beautiful thing to wish for."

"Sorry… right," the grin was still huge on Antonio's face.

Kevin wrapped his arm around Mia and bit his lip to contain his anger.

Mia knew Antonio didn't mean anything hurtful. She knew he was a sweet guy and he probably expected her to dream of something a little more fantastic. It was likely he was only laughing out of surprise. But his words still hurt.

"What about you, Mike?" Antonio decided to turn the attention away from Mia before he made things worse. "What do you want to do once we defeat the evil Master X?"

"Not really sure, yet," Mike shrugged. "I never really thought about it. I'm more of an _'in the moment'_ kind of guy. I guess what happens, happens."

"Okay, Emily?" he turned to the youngest Ranger.

Emily gave him a look, "I just want to go home to my family. I don't really care what happens after that; as long as they're all home when I'm done."

"Sweet," Antonio nodded.

There was a moment of silence afterwards which no one seemed to want to break. Kevin sure as hell wasn't going to start up a conversation. He would sit and eat with the rest of the team, but everyone knew he wouldn't contribute much while Antonio was present. Mia was still feeling a little awkward and didn't want the attention to shift back to her.

Antonio didn't like the silence. He needed to break it. He knew the perfect way to break it too.

He reached into his cooler and pulled out a fresh fish. He held it up and looked over at Emily.

"Guess who's back!"

"Don't you dare!" Emily shrieked with laughter as she ducked behind Mike to hide from Antonio's fish puppet. "It's slimy and nasty!"

"Please don't eat my friend," Antonio made the fish say. Jayden watched and shook his head as he took another bite of his food.

Suddenly, Antonio lost his grip on the fish and it slipped out of his hand. He tried to catch it, but the fish continued to slip. As he juggled with the sea creature, the rest of the table began to laugh, even Kevin. The laughter continued until Jayden started to cough. It wasn't easy swallowing his bite while laughing and his lunch was determined to head down to his stomach before he was ready for it.

The cough was harmless, but Antonio was a funny guy. He let the fish fall on the table and immediately turned to Jayden.

"Are you choking?" he asked dramatically as he pat his best friend on the back. Jayden shook his head and laughed.

"I'm fine!"

"No you're not!" Antonio bounced up and grabbed Jayden, almost knocking him to the ground. "I'll save you! Emily, call 911! Jayden can't breathe!"

"Antonio! I'm fine!" Jayden smiled as he tried to push his friend off. "Stop it before you …"

He was interrupted when the sound of plates crashing on the floor caught the Rangers' ears. Everyone turned to the source of the noise. Emily was gone.

Antonio frowned, "I… I wasn't serious…"

"She knows," Mike pushed his plate away and rushed after his girlfriend while Mia and Kevin started picking up the pieces of the broken plate and the food from the ground.

Antonio looked to Jayden, "What…?"

"Nothing, Antonio. You didn't know," Jayden sighed. He gave his friend a pat on the shoulder before he exchanged looks with Mia and Kevin. Mia shrugged and shook her head, unsure of what to do in this moment.

Kevin looked ready to kill.

"He didn't know," Jayden repeated for Kevin.

"I've had enough of him," Kevin growled. He placed the broken pieces on the table so no one would step on them and he turned to Antonio, "Keep your jokes to yourself next time. They aren't funny to anyone!"

"Kevin, he was only…"

Kevin pointed to the house,"It still hurt Emily," he glared at Mia. "It still hurt you."

He turned back to Antonio. If looks could kill, Antonio would be long gone at this point.

"Just stay away from me and keep your slimy fish away from my girlfriend!" he shouted before storming off.

"It was just a joke…" Antonio whispered sadly as he turned to Jayden. "I… I didn't… I didn't mean to offend anyone… I was just…"

"Having fun," Mia nodded, "We know."


	67. Different Perspective

Mike walked into Emily and Mia's room and took a seat beside Emily on her bed. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. She wasn't crying. She didn't even seem all that hurt, but he knew what Antonio had said had brought back terrifying memories for her. Emily had told him what happened the day Serena got sick with such detail sometimes Mike had to remind himself he hadn't actually been there when it happened. It was something she would always remember clearly. She had only been a young girl when her sister fell ill and it terrified her when her parents started panicking.

"He didn't know," he whispered into her ear as he held her. Emily nodded.

"I know. I don't blame him. I just couldn't stay there."

There was a knock on the door before Kevin walked in. He seemed tense and angry, but his expression softened when he turned to Mike and Emily.

"Antonio's a jerk," he growled. He looked at Emily, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Emily nodded. She gestured to Serena's letter on her end table, "Maybe it wasn't a good idea to reread that yesterday. She's really been on my mind ever since."

"He should have known better," Kevin muttered before the door opened again and Mia, Jayden and Antonio stepped in. Antonio looked over at Emily.

"Jayden and Mia told me everything," he said bashfully. He looked down at his feet, "I had no idea. I'm really, really sorry. Mis disculpas."

"It's okay," Emily assured him, "You didn't know. You're not the first person to joke around like that, anyways. The kids at school used to do it on purpose all the time…"

"We know you wouldn't have done it if you had known," Mike smiled to Antonio as Emily pulled away from him and got off the bed. She walked over to the gold Ranger and offered him a hug to let him know she accepted his apology.

Kevin wasn't happy with this, though. He wasn't happy with anything Antonio did, and he hated how everyone was just letting everything slide. He shook his head in disappointment but he knew better than to speak. He was outnumbered by the Antonio fans.

Mia turned to her boyfriend, "Don't you have something to say to Antonio?" she asked.

"No," Kevin shook his head and turned to the door to walk away. Mia beat him to the exit, though and blocked his path. She shot him a look.

"You promised to be civil," she said while shooting him a disappointed look. "You're supposed to behave."

"It's alright," Antonio shook his head, "I made a mistake… he called me out on it. I should have…"

"No," Mia continued to glare at Kevin as he spoke to Antonio, "We've been here before. Kevin already knows how to behave."

"Mia…" Kevin groaned, "You're treating me like a kid."

"You're behaving like one," Mia retorted. "Now apologize to Antonio."

"No."

"Kevin…"

Kevin sighed and turned to the gold Ranger, "I'm sorry."

He looked back at Mia, "There."

"Wow," Mia rolled her eyes, "so touching."

"I apologized, can I go now?"

Mia sighed as she stepped aside and let Kevin leave the room. She didn't know what to do anymore.

Mike got up from the bed and rushed out to follow Kevin. Mia obviously wasn't getting through to the blue Ranger. Maybe Kevin just needed another voice to break through his thick skull so he could realise where he was making his mistake. No one knew more about the problem Kevin was having than Mike. He had already been on the receiving end of the water Samurai's wrath. He figured if he couldn't get Kevin to really open up and accept Antonio, no one could.

He caught up to Kevin in the dojo and noticed the blue Ranger had grabbed a sword so he could train. Mike, not wanting to get hit repeatedly, grabbed a sword as well and walked over to Kevin.

"Okay, so the guy's a bit of a lunatic."

"You don't have to pretend to agree with me," Kevin said. He held up his sword, challenging Mike to a duel, "I know you like him. He's a good friend for you, isn't he?"

"He gets on your nerves though," Mike nodded. He swung at Kevin, "It must be annoying have two of me in the house now, especially when the second me seems to be more me than me… if you get what I mean."

"He's more of everything," Kevin sighed, "He's overconfident, he's flamboyant, he's loud, he's energetic… the only thing he doesn't seem to possess is real Samurai skills."

Kevin knocked Mike off his feet.

Mike groaned and rubbed his butt as he stood back up.

"Okay, even I'll admit he's a bit unorthodox, but he gets the job done."

"Someone's going to get hurt," Kevin growled. "He has no idea what he's doing. At least you knew you were screwing things up. You just chose not to listen. Antonio's just…"

"He's a good guy," Mike said. Kevin rolled his eyes. He had heard this speech several times from Mia. Mike gripped his sword tighter, "He always means well. He didn't want to offend Mia when he laughed at her dream. He didn't know his little joke would hurt Emily. It's not like he continued to joke around when he knew it was hurting people. He just stuck out twice in a row. Can't you at give him his final shot?"

"He cooked with my girlfriend," Kevin growled.

"So?" Mike shrugged.

"I cook with Mia. That's our thing."

"He likes to make Emily laugh," Mike shrugged again. He didn't see the big deal. "I used to be the guy who made Emily laugh. That used to be me. Antonio can make her laugh now. Sure, it bugs me a little bit, but I just want to see Emily happy. As long as she's happy, and at the end of the day she falls asleep in my arms and not Antonio's, I don't really have a reason to hate the guy."

"Fine, what… Oof!"

Kevin looked up from the ground after Mike knocked him down. He was surprised his green friend could take him out that easily. Normally Mike struggled whenever he fought with Kevin.

Mike put his sword away after defeating Kevin, "Mia cooked that fish for you. She learned how to do that for you. Antonio was being a gentleman and he was just making sure she didn't undercook the fish or burn it to a crisp. Could you imagine how bad Mia would have felt if she realised her cooking still made you sick?"

"I… I…"

"By the way," Mike said as he headed to the door, "Antonio taught me that move. Defeats bigger opponents every time. It's not exactly by the book, but like I said, it gets the job done."

Kevin sighed and rubbed his shoulder as he watched Mike leave. He still didn't like Antonio, but maybe he was being too hard on the guy. It wasn't like he had really done anything to hurt his friends on purpose. He had laughed at Mia and that had hurt, but Antonio had also been the one to take the spotlight off her once she did get hurt and embarrassed. And he had no idea what Emily was dealing with back at home. Kevin assumed that he maybe knew Emily's sister was sick, but he didn't know what she was sick with. It wasn't his fault.

He picked up his sword and jumped to his feet to continue his training. He had a lot to think about.


	68. Just One Call

"I'm really sorry about Kevin," Mia said to Antonio after Mike had gone after Kevin. She could only hope the green Ranger would be able to talk some sense back into Kevin. It seemed like she wasn't getting through to him so she hoped that maybe Mike would be able to remind Kevin of the last time they were all in this position and how things had worked out.

"Don't apologize," Antonio shook his head, "It's not your fault. I guess he and I just… won't ever really get along. But that's okay."

"No, it's not," Jayden said. "We're a team of six now. We have to be able to work together. Whatever coming between you and Kevin will hurt us all sooner or later."

"Maybe he just needs some time to adjust," Emily suggested. "I mean, I like you, Antonio, but you came out of nowhere and just starting showing off. Kevin's always had a hard time with people who don't take the way of the Samurai seriously."

"What do you mean?" Mia asked.

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe we just shouldn't force them to get along. You remember Abby, right?"

"Yeah."

"In sixth grade the teacher noticed she and I weren't getting along. She tried to stick us together for an assignment hoping maybe we would work things out…"

"Judging by the looks you were giving her the day she turned up I would say that didn't work."

"She hated me more after that," Emily nodded. "She, uh… we had to present in front of the class and… I choked. We got a C. Abby wasn't happy."

"Maybe Emily has a point," Jayden mused to the others. "We can't tell Kevin how to feel. Forcing him to do something he doesn't want to do could backfire. Maybe things need to get worse before they get better."

"So you mean it has to get worse than bringing up a Ranger's dying sister?" Antonio sighed. He didn't like this plan, even if it meant maybe getting Kevin to like him. He felt bad enough for the things he had done over lunch. He didn't want to hurt anyone else.

"Maybe Kevin just has to hit rock bottom before he comes to his senses," Jayden nodded. "I mean, once he hates Antonio with every fibre of his being, the only thing he can do after that is start to see that Antonio's not a bad guy."

"So, what, we just let him duke it out with Antonio?" Mia frowned. She was with Antonio on this one. She didn't want there to be anymore tension between Kevin and the gold Ranger.

"We let him do what he needs to do," Jayden said. "If Kevin wants to be angry, we let him be angry. It'll only frustrate him if we keep him from feeling the way he feels."

"So, you're just going to let him attack me?" Antonio asked.

Jayden nodded his head, "Basically. But we will stop him if things get out of hand."

"I'm confused," Emily frowned, "Are we encouraging Kevin to be a prick to Antonio?"

"No," Jayden chuckled as he shook his head, "We just don't discourage it."

"Good luck with that," Emily furrowed her brow before she grabbed her letter from her sister and got to her feet, "I'm going to go find Mike."

As Emily left the room, Mia turned to Jayden.

"This plan of yours… letting Kevin be angry… are you sure it's going to work?"

"What else can we do?" Jayden shrugged his shoulders. "Kevin's stubborn, but he's not a bad guy. There has to be a reason he hates Antonio. After all, you remember why he hated Mike."

Mia nodded and glanced at the door, where Emily had left. She knew Kevin saw Emily as his little sister and sometimes he went a little overboard trying to protect her. When he had hated Mike, he had really only hated him because he was afraid Mike would do something that would hurt Emily. Once everything started to settle and Kevin realised that both he and Mike were on the same page with Emily (neither wanted to see her hurt), they managed to put their differences aside. They still bickered constantly, but they were friends – best friends, even.

Mia let out a sigh and nodded her head. Maybe Jayden was right. Maybe there was something that was bothering Kevin. Maybe, letting him hit rock bottom was the only way things would work out for everyone.

-Samurai-

With her letter in hand, Emily raced down the hallway and nearly bumped into Mike as they crossed paths. He could see she was in a hurry and assumed she just had another burst of energy. He tried to catch her to ask her where she was going, but she squirmed away from him.

"I need… uh… I need to talk to Kevin," she told Mike.

"Uh, okay," Mike frowned. He noticed the letter in Emily's hand, "What are you…?"

"Can we talk later?" Emily said. She was bouncing on her heels, obviously very eager to leave. Mike nodded his head.

"Sure."

"Thank you!" Emily called as she hurried off. Mike noticed she didn't head for the dojo but shrugged it off. He assumed she would find him on her own eventually.

-Samurai-

After bumping into Mike, Emily had snuck out of the house. She needed to leave the house just to get away. She hated that she had to lie to her friends about leaving. She wasn't normally a liar; she wasn't even a very good liar, but she knew that if she told the others she wanted to head into town alone, they would have insisted someone come with her and she didn't want that.

She sat on a park bench and reread her sister's letter again. Every time she read it, it felt like the first time. She missed being back home, she missed being with her parents and her sister. She loved her Samurai family, but nothing would ever compare to her mother, her father and her real sister.

She wished she could write back to her sister to let her know how things were going. She remembered how upset Serena had been when she fell ill and had to hand over her Samuraizer and the Ape Zord. Serena hadn't been worried about herself. Not at all. The only thing on her mind was Emily and it seemed like the guilt of putting her little sister in danger was killing her more than the disease ever could. Emily just wanted to let Serena know she was staying strong and she didn't have to worry. She had good friends who were looking out for her and that she would come home safe and sound.

Suddenly, a shadow was cast over the letter and Emily looked up. She smiled slightly when she recognised the boy, Spike, from the few times they had met.

"I remember you," she said as she moved down on the bench to let him take a seat.

"You seem upset," Spike said. Emily looked back down at her letter before she nodded.

"I just miss home, that's all."

"Why don't you go home?" Spike offered. Emily sighed.

"I can't…"

"Oh…" Spike shifted slightly, "Why not?"

"I just… I can't. I'm supposed to be living with my… uh…" Emily didn't really know what to tell Spike, so she said the first thing that came to mind, "my, uh… uncle Ji."

"Why?"

Emily frowned. This kid asked a lot of questions.

"He's, um…" again, she didn't really know what to say. Spike could see she was struggling with an answer and he wrapped his arm around her. His uncle Bulk, who was teaching him how to be a Samurai, had only just told him recently that in order to be a Samurai he needed to be selfless. He needed to put the needs of others first. So when he had seen Emily, a familiar face, looking upset, he decided to be a Samurai and see if he could help her out.

"I'm living with my uncle," he said, "You know, the guy who's always spilling something on his head, or getting hit in the head."

Emily chuckled. The two times she had met Spike's uncle something along those lines had happened. The first time he had gotten ice-cream in the face, and the second time he had been hit in the head with a Frisbee.

"Yeah, I remember him."

"I never really knew my mom," Spike admitted to Emily, "I mean, she was around when I was little, but then family issues and all that other crap made it so dad had custody of me. But now he's overseas and he's left me with my uncle Bulk. I don't know when he'll be back or…"

Spike shrugged his shoulders, "Never mind. Uncle Bulk's fun. He's teaching me to be a Samurai!"

"Cool," Emily giggled before she looked at her letter. She knew what she could tell Spike. She didn't want to lie to him, but she knew she had to keep her identity as a Ranger and a Samurai a secret. "My parents sent me to live with Ji after my sister got sick."

"That sucks," Spike nodded.

Emily sighed, "Yeah… and now I can't go home."

"Why not?" Spike frowned. "Is your family overseas too?"

"No," Emily shook her head, "but Mentor… uh, Uncle Ji would be very mad at me if he found out I went home. It's not good for my family."

"That doesn't sound right," Spike said. "If your sister is sick, you should be able to see her. How can you visiting be a bad thing?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders and knew she would need to come up with another excuse.

"They don't want me to get sick too…" she tried. Spike seemed to buy it but Emily noted the expression on his face. He was thinking. He was planning something.

Suddenly he pulled out his cell phone, "You can't get sick via phone call," he held his phone out for Emily to take, "Why don't you give her a call?"

"I can't…"

"C'mon," Spike smiled, "Don't worry if it's long distance. I have a good plan and uncle Bulk won't mind one quick phone call."

"No… I really can't," Emily shook her head. "It's too dangerous."

"Who's going to find out?" Spike insisted. "Your uncle never has to know. No harm, no foul."

"I…"

"I know you want to," Spike placed his phone in her hand, "I won't tell anyone. I'll turn away and pretend I never saw anything."

"My mom wouldn't even let her speak to me," Emily said. "It's not going to happen, even if I tried."

"I would do anything to hear my father's voice, even for a second," Spike said. He took the phone back from Emily, "Even if you don't reach your sister, would it help you to hear your mother's voice?"

Emily nodded her head, "Yeah… I guess…"

"So… what's the number?"

Emily's heart raced. She knew it was wrong to contact her family. As much as she missed them, she knew she had to keep them safe. She would see them again, hopefully, one day. And if something happened to them because she made one phone call, she would never be able to forgive herself.

But, on the other hand, she had no idea if she would ever get the chance to see her sister again. She wasn't sure if she would be contacted if her sister passed away because it would devastate her and weaken the team. If she made this phone call, at least she could rest easy knowing she had said her goodbyes.

She didn't know what to do.

-Samurai-

Mike paused his video game once the others finally joined him in the common room. He hadn't gone back to see them after bumping into Emily. Instead, he decided to spend a little time practicing his gaming for the next time he challenged Antonio.

"Well, I talked with Kevin," he said when the others took their seats, "I don't know if he's snapped out of his… whatever you want to call it, but I'm pretty sure I gave him something to think about."

"You did what you could," Jayden nodded to the green Ranger, "Anyways; we've decided to let things happen. We're not going to interfere anymore. If Kevin wants to be angry, he'll be angry."

"Good luck then, dude," Mike chuckled as he turned to Antonio. The gold Ranger gave Mike a scared yet thankful look. He knew he was going to need all the luck he could get if the others weren't going to interfere. Antonio wasn't afraid of much, but he wasn't exactly fearless. He was sure Kevin would never really hurt him, but at the same time he had already seen some of Kevin's wrath, and apparently the blue Ranger hadn't hit rock bottom yet.

"Hey, did you find Emily?" Mia asked Mike. The forest Samurai looked at her and nodded.

"Yeah, she was in a rush to see Kevin, though."

Mia furrowed her brow, "She said she wanted to see you."

"Well, she saw me," Mike said, "and she told me she wanted to see Kevin."

"Is she with Kevin?" Jayden asked. Mike shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, Kevin's in the dojo, probably beating stuff up. Emily wasn't headed that way when I left her."

Mia jumped up from her stool and rushed to the dojo. The three boys exchanged looks before they followed her. When they found her and Kevin they noticed he was training alone.

"Emily wasn't in here, was she?" Mia asked her boyfriend. Kevin didn't look at her as he continued to smack the training dummy, but he shook his head no.

"Haven't seen her."

Mia rubbed her forehead, "I'm going to put a beeper or a bell or something on that kid…"


	69. Some Rules Were Meant To Be Broken

With two hot-dogs in his hand, Spike walked back to the picnic table. He placed one before Emily and flashed her a smile.

"I hope that helped," he said, referring to the phone call. Emily nodded her head. She knew she had broken the rules, and if Mentor Ji ever found out she would be doing punishment drills until the end of time, but she had to hear a familiar voice from back home. She needed to know how things were going. Not knowing anything was killing her. Serena's letter, though it made Emily feel better, didn't go into too much detail on what was happening with her disease, leaving Emily to wonder whether there was nothing to say because things were still same old, same old, or if Serena left out information because she didn't want to scare Emily.

"It kind of did," Emily answered as she watched Spike wolf down his hot-dog. She was pretty sure he hadn't chewed it at all. For such a slim man, he sure could fit a lot in his body at once. The hot dogs from the vendor were supersized and yet it still fit in his mouth.

Emily shook her head and sighed, "It's just…" she looked away from Spike, "I want to go home so bad… but I know I can't."

"You can talk about home," Spike shrugged as he took a seat. "I'm willing to listen."

"There's not much to say."

"Well, talk about whatever is on your mind," Spike said, "You have a sick sister, there's got to be a million things racing through your head."

"Maybe. I just want to go home… see things for myself. I'm sick of being lied to and protected."

Spike furrowed his brow, "What… what do you mean? Who's lying to you?"

"I get why they do it," Emily continued, "It's a touchy subject. I was only a kid when she got sick, I couldn't understand. But I'm not a kid anymore."

Spike placed his hand on top of Emily's soothingly as he looked away from her and saw his uncle Bulk was headed over. A thought popped into his head.

"Stay here," he told her as he bounced out of seat and rushed over to his uncle. Emily watched him as he whispered something into his uncle's ear. By the looks of things, he was trying to convince his uncle of something. This lasted for about five minutes before Spike skipped back over to her and grabbed her hand.

"You said you lived out in the country, right?" Spike asked her. "How far from here?"

"A few hours or so… why?"

"We're going to take you to see your sister!" Spike grabbed her wrist, intending on pulling her along with him, but as soon as he turned around he bumped into another person. He was almost knocked off his feet but steadied himself before he could fall. He looked up and his brain turned to mush.

Mia glared at Emily, "Where the hell have you been?"

She stepped past Spike, ignoring his strange attitude. He was usually acting like thing whenever she was around. She just assumed it was teenager boy brain and pretended like it was nothing.

Emily pulled her arm out of Spike's grip and shrugged as Kevin walked over as well. She figured her friends would be searching for her at this point so she wasn't surprised to see him.

"I've been right here," she gestured to the park.

"Why's this kid talking about visiting Serena?" Mia asked. She had heard the very end of the conversation with Emily and Spike, but she had heard enough to figure out what was going on.

"Because I'm allowed to talk about my sister with whomever I choose," Emily shrugged her shoulders. She knew if Mia or Kevin found out what she had done she would be in trouble. She just hoped she was a good enough liar to keep this one secret from them. "Spike just thought taking me to visit her would help…"

"She just seemed to upset after the phone call," Spike managed to stammer out to help his friend. Emily started kicking herself mentally when he said this. He had no idea how much trouble he had just gotten her in. She appreciated all his help, and didn't regret anything, but she really wished he hadn't said anything.

"A phone call?" Kevin frowned. He looked at Spike, "She made a phone call?"

"You're so pretty," Spike blurted out to Mia in a love-sick tone. He smiled lovingly at her. He had been crushing on her since the day they met here in this park, by the hot-dog vendor. She was so beautiful he could never take his eyes off her. His brain turned to mush when she was around. The only other person to ever do this to him was the pink Ranger, the Ranger who had once taken him into her arms and saved his life. Both women were beautiful in his books, even if he hadn't seen the face of the pink Ranger.

Mia turned to Spike with a blush before she pointed to his uncle, having recognised him from the few times she had met him.

"Maybe you should go," she said.

Spike shook his head, "I'm okay!"

"Spike, this is personal," Kevin growled. He knew this kid wasn't a threat, but he seemed strangely attached to Mia. Kevin would feel much more comfortable if the kid walked away. "Thank you for keeping Emily company but we can take it from here."

"Beautiful," Spike said, lost in a day dream as Kevin grabbed his shoulders and marched him back to his uncle.

Mia turned to Emily, "You made a phone call home?"

Emily didn't want to tell Mia the truth but she couldn't lie anymore. She nodded her head.

"Please don't tell Mentor or Jayden…"

"Emily…" Mia sighed.

"It's just, finding Serena's letter again and then hearing what Antonio said… she's been on my mind a lot! I just thought…"

"You didn't think, Emily," Mia said, "You of all people should know just how dangerous it is for us to contact our families!"

"I know… but…"

"No buts!" Mia grabbed Emily's arm, "We'll talk when we get home."

"Please don't tell Mentor…"

"I have to," Mia said. "He needs to know about this. We need to be ready in case you started something."

"But it's just a phone call…"

"Home," Mia said as Kevin walked back. A simple look from Mia and he knew what was going on. He nodded his head.

-Samurai-

Emily had opted not to be in the room when Mia and Kevin went to talk with Jayden and Mentor. Instead, she hid away in her room and thought about waiting for her punishment in there.

Suddenly, a head poked through the crack in her door, bearing a huge grin.

"Hola!"

Emily frowned, "Shouldn't there be some big meeting at this point, Antonio?"

The gold Ranger nodded as he stepped into the room and sat on Emily's bed, "Mia, Jayden, Kevin, Mentor and Kevin are all talking about what you did. Personally, I don't think it's that bad."

Emily shrugged, "You already know we're not allowed to contact our families. What I did could have serious consequences."

"So why did you do it?" Antonio asked.

Emily shrugged again, "I don't know. I just had to hear her voice."

"Was it worth it?"

"Yeah," Emily nodded.

"Jayden and I used to bend the rules all the time," Antonio mused a loud as he wrapped his arm around Emily. "Mentor didn't like when I turned up during training hours. He was always scared that I would distract Jayden. But whenever Mentor wasn't looking, Jayden and I would play together. I was always there, just around the corner, until the day I moved away. Mentor never knew."

"Jayden's a rebel?" Emily chuckled. This was hard to believe.

Antonio shrugged, "I guess so. Doesn't really seem like him, does it?"

"So, did you distract Jayden during training?" Emily asked. Antonio nodded his head.

"Yeah. A lot," he laughed. "But I think it was good for him."

"He said the only time he felt like a regular kid was when you were around," Emily said. "I guess maybe it was good for him to have someone to play with from time to time, even when it was against the rules."

"Rules always mean well," Antonio nodded, "They're there to protect us and keep us in line, but some rules were meant to be broken. Jayden's already so… Jayden. Could you imagine how much worse he would be if he never had fun with a friend?"

"He would be… Kevin," Emily laughed. Antonio rolled his eyes.

"One Kevin is enough to deal with, thank you," Antonio teased before pulling Emily into a hug, "If it helps, I'm only telling you all this because I'm on your side. That phone call was something you had to do. You have a right to check in on your sister. It's your family and no one can protect them more than you."

"I'm glad there's someone on my side," Emily sighed.

"Mike's on your side," Antonio smirked, "Though, that should be obvious. From what I could tell, he really, really loves you."

"I know," a smile appeared on Emily's face. "He's always been there for me. He's amazing."

"Jayden's on your side too," Antonio added as he got up from the bed. The smile fell right off Emily's face and she gave Antonio a truly confused look. He chuckled. "Hey, after everything I told you about Jayden breaking the no-outside-contact-rule, do you really think he was going to sit by and watch you get punished for one phone call home?"

"I guess not."

"Just… don't make this a regular thing," Antonio told her. "I'll cover for you from time to time when you really start to worry about Serena, but the others do have a point. The more contact you make, the more danger you put her in. Jayden and I got lucky. Maybe it was a good thing my dad got a job somewhere else."

"Thanks, Antonio," Emily smiled and nodded her head, indicating she understood.


	70. Rock Bottom

Emily shifted uncomfortably on her stool. Now that Mentor Ji and the other Rangers had finished their discussion she needed to sit with them to hear what they had come up with as punishment for disobeying one of the most important rules.

Mike sat over on his stool on the other side of the table and gave her a sympathetic look. Emily could tell he wasn't going to yell at her. If he was going to do anything, it would probably be done after this conversation and in private. No one understood her more that Mike, so she hoped he would cut her a little slack.

Jayden also seemed to be a little sympathetic towards her than the others, but Emily was no longer surprised about that. Not after what Antonio had told her about his and Jayden's friendship as kids.

Antonio didn't seem involved at all. She knew he hadn't sat with the others because he had come to see her and comfort her while they all talked. He looked like he was barely even paying attention to the other Rangers around him. Emily worried about this as her gaze shifted over to Kevin, who had already noticed the gold Ranger wasn't taking this matter seriously. She knew Kevin was probably already disappointed in her and Antonio wasn't helping. Emily knew this could lead to one of two outcomes. Either Kevin hit rock bottom now and started screaming at Antonio, or, in an attempt to control himself, Kevin directed his anger at her while lecturing her.

Emily didn't like either outcome.

She turned to head to Mia. The pink Ranger was confusing her. Normally she would have thought Mia and Jayden would have the reverse roles of what they did now. Mia was always trying to help Emily feel more comfortable and safe, but today, when Jayden suddenly became all sympathetic, Mia was being tough.

"Emily," Mentor started. Emily didn't need to look at him to know he was angry, "Do you know what you've done?"

"Yeah…"

"I don't think you do," Mentor said. He played with his staff, which made Emily very nervous. It always made Emily nervous. Mentor was excellent with a sword and if he wanted to he could turn that staff into a deadly weapon. She had no idea why he walked around with it, but she didn't want to find out.

Mentor continued, "When you first took up your responsibility as a Samurai, you were told not to contact home. Do you remember the reasons why?"

"It could put my family in danger," Emily nodded, "I know Mentor, but…"

"Emily, what if a Nighlok had seen you making that phone call home?" Mentor asked, "What if Dekker had been around?"

"To be fair, Mentor, I doubt they would be able to find her family based on one phone call," Mike spoke up in Emily's defence. "I mean, if she went to visit them, sure, but it was just a…"

"Silence," Mentor slapped the top of Mike's head with his staff, confirming Emily's suspicions about the reason he carried it around. Mentor looked back at Emily, "I cannot let this slide."

"I know…"

"Mentor," it was Antonio's turn to speak up, "I get the whole leave your family behind thing you're trying to do, but Mike has a point. It was just a phone call."

"And it's not like Emily's the first person to break the no contact rule," Mike added as he leaned away from Mentor and his staff, "Someone had to of broken the rule to get us our letters from home."

Mia and Kevin's gaze turned to Jayden when Mike said this. Jayden had never admitted to getting the letters for the Rangers, but Mia and Kevin still saw right through him. Even Mentor Ji had an uncomfortable look on his face. He had never bothered to figure out who brought the letters from home, but he knew it had been Jayden.

"That person has been dealt with," Mentor Ji said. "Those letters were a onetime deal."

"Wait," Antonio frowned, "Someone in this room actually went to visit all the families and collect letters and Emily's in trouble for a phone call?"

"The letters could have been mailed," Mia suggested, trying to cover for Jayden.

"So, all your families, at once, decided, without talking to each other, to write you guys a letter and they all arrive here, at this secret, isolated house, via mail at the same time?"

"In the middle of the night," Mike added to Antonio's argument.

The gold Ranger nodded his head and he looked at Mentor, "Look, I know what you're trying to do, but it's not like these guys don't care about their families. I doubt Emily made that phone call and wanted to put her family in danger. And if she did put them in danger, don't you think she would fight the hardest to keep them safe?"

"Antonio, this is the way the Samurai have done things for generations," Kevin growled. He cracked his knuckles, trying to keep his disdain for Antonio to a minimum. "No outside contact with friends, family, or anyone from our past. Master Xandred wants us dead, and he'll do anything…"

"I just…" Antonio shook his head, interrupting Kevin, "I don't get why there can't be exceptions. Surely you miss your family…"

"Not enough to put their lives at risk."

"Who's in danger?" Antonio asked. "No one was around."

"We don't know that, yet," Kevin said, "Dekker's crafty and Master Xandred could be watching us at any time."

"But do they think you guys were hatched from a Mentor Ji egg or something? That you Rangers just popped out of nowhere…"

"You did," Kevin growled.

"Odds are, they know about your families," Antonio said, "But one phone call isn't a giveaway. It's not like they have a face, or an address, or a trail of breadcrumbs that'll lead them right to your families. They have one phone call on a civilian phone… if they even know about it."

"It doesn't matter how Emily got in contact with her family! One phone call could just be a gateway to something more serious!"

"That kid was already offering to drive Emily back home," Mia nodded her head. She was with Kevin on this one. While it was just an innocent phone call, it could lead to Emily, or anyone else, thinking it was okay to break the rules as long as no one found out.

"I doubt Emily would have taken him up on the offer," Antonio frowned.

Kevin jumped out of his seat, "What the hell do you know, Antonio?" he screamed, "What do you know about any of us? Fine, you were Jayden's friend when you were, what, six? That was fifteen years ago! You don't know Jayden; you don't know any of us! Why are you even here?"

"Kevin," Jayden frowned.

Kevin growled and turned to Jayden, "What? An old friend who you haven't seen in over a decade turns up and he's okay? He's a good guy? We're supposed to trust him just like that? We let him move into our house and screw up everything we've been working so hard to fix? Mike's only just starting to not be useless with a sword, now we're going to let Antonio throw him back to the beginning with his crazy improvised technique?"

"Hey!" Mike frowned. He knew Kevin was angry and probably wasn't thinking about what he was saying, but his words still hurt.

Kevin didn't hear Mike though and continued, "And we already have Emily, do we really need another baby to look and clean up after every time they slip, fall and make a mess?"

"A baby…?" Emily whimpered.

Kevin still wasn't done, "And so what if Antonio can cook? The dude grills raw fish, that's not real talent! That's sticking food over a fire and waiting until it's cooked! Cavemen used to do it! Mia could do it and we all know she's a shit cook!"

"Kevin!"

Mia's voice broke through Kevin's rage and suddenly he realised what he had said and done. He turned to his best friend, his little sister and his girlfriend and tried to look at them apologetically, but before he could they got up and rushed off.

Jayden jumped to his feet, "Antonio really bugs you, doesn't he?"

Kevin let out a deep sigh. There was no way he could deny it now. He lowered his head and shook it sadly.

"Yes."

"Glad to know it's not just me joining the team that bothers you," Antonio muttered, "It's every part of me."

"I've had enough of this," Jayden growled. He turned to his best friend, "Antonio, you're cut."

"What…?"

"Kevin," Jayden turned to the blue Ranger, "You're cut too."

"What?"

"Until you two can sort this out," Jayden eyed Kevin, knowing the problem was mostly with him, "you are more of a danger to anyone that a simple phone call or a letter from home. The last thing I want is for anything or anyone to put this team in danger."

"So you're cutting us?" Kevin asked incredulously.

Jayden nodded his head, "If you two can't work together on a team, you're not working on my team. Until you two can work this out, you are your own team. You will share a room, like teammates, you will eat together, like teammates, you will train together, like teammates, and you will fight together, like teammates… but you will be doing none of those things with the rest of the team."

"But, Jayden, eso no es justo! I can work with Kevin! He's the one with the problem!"

Kevin turned to Mentor Ji, "You can't let him do that!"

"I'm afraid I agree with Jayden," Mentor nodded. "You two cannot work together and we cannot let that endanger the team. Until further notice, the two of you are cut from the Samurai team so you will no longer be a danger to Jayden and the others."

"Kevin, you'll sleep with Antonio in my room until you have this thing sorted," Jayden said.

Kevin rolled his eyes, "Why does he get to stay in his room?"

"Because you're the one with the problem," Jayden growled. "You have thirty seconds to grab whatever you need from your room and bathroom. Whatever else you need, but don't have, you will have to borrow from Antonio."

"Thirty seconds…?"

"That started ten seconds ago," Jayden said. Kevin's eyes widened and he jumped out of his seat to grab as many things as possible. There was no way he was using anything of Antonio's.

With Kevin gone Jayden turned to Antonio, "I'm sorry I had to drag you down with him, but this might be the only way we can figure this thing out. Simply punishing him and letting you off easy wouldn't have done anything to help."

Antonio crossed his arms, "I guess… it still sucks."

"Sorry, buddy," Jayden said. He gave Antonio a pat on the shoulder, "I'm going to check up on the others. Try not to get yourself killed."


	71. Makes Us Stronger

"I," Mike swung his sword, "am," he smacked the dummy, "not," he knocked it over, "useless!"

He drove his training sword into the dummy's chest, effectively killing it, had it been real. He panted loudly as he rose to his feet and turned to the girls sadly.

Kevin's words had hurt them all. They knew he had been angry when he said them and that they shouldn't take it to heart, but there was still a little voice inside their heads that told them that he wouldn't have said it if, on some level, he didn't think it was true.

Kevin had called him useless, or some level just above useless, but Mike knew what he meant. After all the effort he put into his training, all the hard work, dedication and commitment, Kevin still saw him as nothing more than a joke. He knew he wasn't a traditional Samurai. There were some rules, some codes, some techniques he just couldn't understand. They may have worked centuries, or even decades ago, but times were changing. As long as Master Xandred was defeated and he and his friends were safe, he didn't understand why he had to swing a sword a certain way or train at a certain time in the morning. It made no sense.

Mike turned to Emily. He watched her for a moment as she tried to comfort Mia. She was trying to be strong for the pink Ranger, but there were tears begging to fall from her eyes. He knew Kevin's words had probably hurt her a lot more than they had hurt him. Emily was the youngest. It was a well known fact that Jayden, Kevin and Mia all saw her as their little sister. Their clumsy, energetic, optimistic little sister, and sometimes they did baby her, but that didn't make her a baby. She was working hard, if not harder than the others to fill her sister's shoes. Only recently had she taken a stand against her entire team and proven she was just as good as the other Rangers who had several years on her already. Kevin had destroyed all that hard work with one simple word.

Finally, Mike's eyes rested on Mia. She was hurting the most. Kevin was someone she loved and trusted. She truly believed he would never do or say anything that would hurt her. But the first time he lost his cool, he had taken it out on her. She knew she wasn't a good cook. She knew she still needed a lot of help in the kitchen. But with that little bit of help, Mia was starting to improve. Just the other day she had made Mike a delicious omelette and that had been without help from Kevin or Antonio. She was learning quickly and Mike could tell it stung to hear from Kevin that she still wasn't any good.

He dropped his sword on the ground and took a seat with the two girls. He wrapped his arm around Emily and took Mia's hand.

"He was just angry," he whispered to them, "People say stupid things when they're angry. We all know the truth."

"Yeah, I am a shit cook," Mia sighed, "I can't even grill fish without Antonio's help…"

"Mia…" Emily leaned over to hug Mia, "You're getting better! You're an okay cook now. I wouldn't trust you to make me a five star meal just yet, but I do still want you to make me the cupcakes Kevin promised me! I didn't carry that big bag of flour for nothing."

"You'll get your cupcakes, Em," Mia chuckled.

Mike nudged the pink Ranger, "Don't listen to Kevin, okay? Have you ever seen those toothpaste commercials? It's always four out of five dentists that agree. Maybe Kevin's just the fifth food critic. Jayden, Antonio, Emily and I all seem to agree you're getting better."

"Serena always said one out of five dentists was a moron," Emily giggled.

"Or has a point…" Mia sighed.

"Mia, don't be so hard on yourself," Emily said. She was starting to bounce in her seat, desperate to help Mia out of her gloom. "Maybe you're not the best cook in the house, but you're going to get better! I mean, you can't get any worse. I bet you that by the time we defeat Master Xandred you'll be one of the best cooks in the house. Maybe your stuff will rival Mentor's or Antonio's. Just don't give up, please?"

"You really want those cupcakes, don't you?" Mia smirked. Emily nodded her head.

"Yes please."

Mia chuckled and poked the yellow Ranger on the nose, "Fine, but you promise you'll be honest with me on how they turn out."

"I promise," Emily nodded. She smiled at Mia before turning to where Mike had left his defeated opponent. She furrowed her brow when she saw the hole in the dummy's chest. "Mike, you broke it."

Mike rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh, yeah… my dad always said I got super strength when I got angry… I guess I got a little carried away."

As Emily and Mia shook their heads, Jayden stepped outside. He wanted to check up on them after Kevin's words had hurt them. They were, after all, his only team now that he had cut Kevin and Antonio. He needed to make sure they were okay.

"Kevin and Antonio have been taken care of," he said, "Hopefully they'll both be back on the team… what happened to the training dummy?"

His eyes moved from the training equipment over to Mike. He knew there was only one person who would let himself get so carried away.

Mike shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. I found him like that when I got here."

"Sure you did," Jayden shook his head. He approached his friends, "Anyways, as I was saying, hopefully Kevin and Antonio will be back on the team soon enough."

"Back on the team?" Mia frowned, "You kicked them off?"

"Only for the time being," Jayden nodded, "They'll need to learn to get along. Until they can be civil, they're going to be forced to work, sleep and play together."

"But Antonio didn't do anything," Emily pointed out. "He's been trying to get Kevin to like him. Why are you punishing him?"

"I have my reasons," Jayden said, "You're just going to have to trust that everything will work out."

"You're not even sure this will work," Mike said. He looked at Jayden, "You're just as worried as the rest of us… aren't you?"

Jayden sighed, "There's nothing else we can try. We've talked with Kevin, Antonio's tried keeping his distance… look what happened when we decided to let Kevin hit rock bottom. I'm not sure this will work, but at least we still have a team… a functioning team."

"A team of four," Mike muttered. He took a deep breath, "Not to worry any of you, but I don't think we're going to get much done with only four people. Every Samurai team before us needed at least five people."

"Like I said, it's only temporary," Jayden said.

Emily nodded her head, "Yeah, either Antonio or Kevin will work things out and we'll be a team of six…"

"Or one of them is going to kill the other and problem solved," Mia shrugged.

"Things will work out for the best, either way," Jayden placed a hand on Mia's shoulder, "Until then we need to stay strong. We can't let our smaller numbers keep us from doing the best we can in battle. I'll need you three to continue to give this fight your all."

"We always do," Emily smiled. She turned to Mike, "even if it's in a different way."

Mike squeezed her lovingly and kissed her cheek.

Jayden smiled at the display and he was reminded of the reason he came outside in the first place. He wanted to make sure they were okay.

"Look, about what Kevin said in there…"

"Don't worry about us, Jayden," Mia said, "We can take care of ourselves."

"He said some pretty hurtful things," Jayden continued, "I just want you to know that… that's not how I see you. That's not how anyone sees you except yourselves. Mike, you may be different, but you're not useless. There are so many battles we couldn't have won without you and there will be so many more."

"I don't think you're useless," Emily smiled as she looked Mike in the eyes. He smiled back.

"You're biased."

"Exactly."

"Emily," Jayden grinned, "you are the baby of the team, but you keep us all grounded. Could you imagine what this house would be like if it was filled with nothing but people like me or Kevin? Or Mike or Mia?"

"Plus, with you around, Mia doesn't have to mother us guys all the time," Mike teased. He glanced at the pink Ranger, "I mean, I like having someone around who will clear my plate after dinner or pick up my laundry from the floor, but I already have one mom back home, I don't need one here too."

"Watch your mouth, Michael," Mia said in a threatening, yet playful tone. Mike gasped mockingly and ducked behind Emily.

"Quick, do something cute before she hurts me!"

Jayden rolled his eyes before he turned to Mia.

"Kevin didn't mean to hurt you, you know that, right?"

"I know," Mia nodded.

"We all have things we can't do," Jayden smiled, "most of us just accept that and focus on what we can do. You're different, Mia. You're working on turning one of your flaws into something beautiful. That takes strength not many people have."

"I guess…"

"Just make the freaking cupcakes, Mia," Jayden smirked and Mia laughed.


	72. Tearing Them Apart

"Dude, stop following me!"

"We have to train…"

"Not together!"

"That's the whole point of this punishment."

"Fine, I'll train in that corner, you train here."

Antonio huffed as Kevin walked off to his own corner to train. Not even a full day into their punishment and this was already proving to be difficult. Kevin refused to open up and Antonio knew his presence was only making things worse for his relationship with Kevin. Truth be told, he was starting to get pissed off and sooner or later, Antonio knew he was going to snap.

"This isn't working," Mia sighed as she watched from the outdoor dining area. She turned to Mike who was trying to get the barbeque started, "They're doing things together, but separately."

"What we need is a good Nighlok attack," Mike nodded his head. He got the barbeque working and closed the lid so it would heat up quickly. "Maybe one of those brains switching Nighloks or one that'll fuse their asses together…"

"At this point, I'll take anything," Mia agreed. "As long as it means they'll work together and Kevin will stop being a prick…"

"You miss him, don't you?" Mike asked. He handed her plate of hamburger topping so she could start cutting the onions and tomatoes and shred the lettuce. Mia nodded her head sadly.

"I rarely get to see him anymore," she said. "He's always so wound up with this Antonio thing. Even if we do get some time together… he's not the same. He hasn't even tried to apologize to me yet."

"He hasn't even spoken to me," Mike sighed. He wrapped his arms around Mia's shoulders and gazed over at Kevin and Antonio, "We all know what Kevin's like. It might still take a while before he warms up to Antonio… but once he does, he'll be the same old Kevin we know and you love and it'll be like they never fought."

"I just wish I knew what the problem was," Mia muttered.

"Antonio moved in too quickly," Mike said. He had talked with Kevin about his problem with Antonio and figured he could share what he knew with Mia. She deserved to know what was going on in her boyfriend's mind. "And I don't mean moved into the house. We're his friends. In such a short amount of time we're already comfortable with him."

"He's Jayden's friend," Mia said, "He's our teammate. We have to be comfortable with him."

"He's changing things up," Mike continued, "This place isn't the same now that he's here and some relationships have changed. I'm not playing video games with Emily anymore. Her spot when to Antonio once I realised the guy's amazing."

"But she doesn't mind," Mia frowned.

"Jayden's spending a little less time with us," Mike said, "Well, less than what little time he gave us before."

"But we don't mind…"

"Emily's asking him to play board games and do other pass-time stuff with her."

"You don't mind…"

"You're cooking with him."

Mike looked down when Mia didn't say anything. He squeezed her gently and chuckled.

"You're boyfriend's a creature of habit. He does the same thing every day. He wakes up at the same time every day, without an alarm clock if I may add. He eats the same breakfast. He trains at the same time; he relaxes in the same way. Hell, the dude goes to the bathroom at the same time every day."

"How do you know that?" Mia chuckled.

"I share a bathroom with him," Mike smirked, "don't you think I would start to notice patterns?"

Mia rolled her eyes and shook her head. Mike gently nudged her.

"Change isn't something Kevin's really used to. I guess Antonio's a big change for him, and it probably doesn't help that he's losing something."

"Cooking?" Mia asked.

Mike shrugged his shoulders, "When I talked to him that did come up."

"But it's not like I'm not cooking with him anymore," Mia sighed. This was complicated. "It's just… I can learn from Antonio… I can learn from everyone."

"Sometimes Kevin just needs a good kick in the ass," Mike said. "Other times, maybe he could use a little support. Maybe, as his girlfriend, you can agree with him a little more if he starts ranting about Antonio. You are the only one he'll really listen to, after all."

"I guess," Mia nodded. She looked back at Kevin and Antonio. They still weren't seeing eye to eye and it was clear they were frustrating each other. However, they were training together, even if they were trying to beat each other up.

She sighed as she finished cutting and shredding the vegetables for the hamburgers and handed the platter to Mike. He smiled at her as he took it and got to work on the hamburgers for lunch.

"Ow!" Antonio cried as Kevin once again hit him hard. He rubbed his arm, "I don't think the point of this exercise is to kill each other."

"Says you," Kevin growled before he swung again. Antonio blocked it and kicked Kevin in the stomach, knocking him back a few paces, giving himself some time to catch his breath.

"If you'll just tell me what I did…"

"No," Kevin dropped his sword and turned away. He grabbed his water bottle and took a sip. "The last thing I need to do is explain myself to the guy who got me kicked off my team!"

"Hey!" Antonio frowned. He ripped the water bottle out of Kevin's hand and tossed it aside, "We were both kicked off the team. We're both being punished. Don't you dare try to make yourself look like the victim."

"We were fine until you showed up," Kevin growled. "You're screwing everything up and you refuse to admit it!"

"Because it isn't true!" Antonio was ready to rip out his hair, "I've trained my entire life to be on this team."

"So have I!"

Kevin glared at Antonio before turning away. The gold Ranger rushed after him and grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"I didn't want to be on this team because I thought it would be cool to be a super hero," Antonio said. "I wanted to be there for my friend. I wanted to fight by his side and protect him. I wasn't born into this. I'm not your typical Samurai, but that just makes me work harder. I thought you would be able to help me be the best I can be, but you're head seems to be shoved too far up your ass for you to see that you could actually help."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Antonio growled before he pushed his way past Kevin, "I'm showering first, by the way. I might as well get all the hot water seeing as all I've been getting from you is a cold shoulder."

Kevin cursed the gold Ranger under his breath as he watched him leave. He turned from the barbecue and saw Mia and Mike had witnessed the entire fight. He wanted to go over to his friends and vent, but he knew he wasn't allowed as part of his punishment. They were on different teams now and Jayden had made it clear that interactions with his friends had to be kept to a minimum. The whole point of this punishment was to get Kevin and Antonio to work together. He hadn't been allowed to eat dinner with his friends the night before, and he knew he wouldn't be sharing burgers with them at lunch.

Mia watched as Kevin collected his water bottle from the ground and walked off. She cast a glance at Mike and saw he was nodding his head.

"I'll cover for you if Jayden asks where you went," he said. "Go talk to Kevin. He looks like he needs it."

"I can't…"

"C'mon," Mike smirked, "I know you want to."

"If I get in trouble I'm blaming you," Mia said. Mike nodded.

"If it helps you, it'll be worth it," he smiled. "Burgers will be ready in about ten minutes. Just be back before then and no one will know."

Mia thanked him and rushed inside after Kevin. She knew where he would be hiding and hurried to the dojo. She found him beating the practice dummy, completely unaware of the world around him. He jumped with a start when she placed her hand on his arm and she had to react quickly to avoid getting smacked in the head.

"Mia!" Kevin cried when he realised he had almost knocked her out cold. He dropped his training sword, "Don't do that! I almost hit you."

"I noticed," Mia said. "Are you okay?"

"He pisses me off," Kevin growled. He shoved the dummy, knocking it over before he turned back to Mia, "Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing here? Didn't Jayden…"

"Jayden doesn't tell me when I can comfort my boyfriend," Mia interrupted. She grabbed Kevin's hand and led him over to the bench. They both took a seat, "This thing with Antonio's getting out of hand, do you realise that?"

"He's irritating," Kevin said.

"There are times when he's annoying," Mia nodded her head, "but that doesn't make him a bad guy. I know you don't have to like him but…"

"I've tried the civil thing," Kevin said, "it doesn't work. He's just too… too…"

"Annoying?"

"Yes."

"Well, right now he's getting between us," Mia said. She rested her head on Kevin's shoulder, "I know I always wanted a love story, but I never thought it would be like Romeo and Juliet. We can't see each other anymore without getting in trouble."

"Forbidden love?" Kevin smirked as he leaned in to kiss Mia. She pulled away before their lips touched.

"I don't want this to end like Romeo and Juliet, though," she said. "I want my happy ending. I want us to be allowed to see each other again. I want the old us back. The times where we would be together and there would be nothing else to distract us. No anger, no Antonio, no nothing."

"Yeah, but Antonio and Jayden are…"

"I get it," Mia said, "Antonio's a thorn in your side and this punishment was all Jayden's idea. It's their fault, they're to blame. You're going to feel the way you feel and that's fine. That's not what bothers me. But the problem is… you're the one with the problem. You're the reason this thing is getting out of hand. Antonio might piss you off until the day one of you dies, but you have to figure out a way to keep that from interfering with everything else, especially us."

Mia got up from her seat and turned to Kevin.

"I don't want to break up, Kevin, and this isn't an ultimatum. I still love you and I want to be with you, but this punishment is going to tear us apart and the only way it's going to stop is if you make it. Try to work with Antonio, try to get along with him, if not for the good of the team, then for us… do it for me."

"Mia…"

"Emily and Jayden seem to be desperate for cupcakes… hopefully we can bake those together soon."

Mia gave Kevin a quick peck on the cheek before she bolted out of the room. Kevin sighed and held his head in his hands before Antonio popped in.

"Shower's all yours," he said.

Kevin nodded and got up. As he walked past Antonio he muttered a quick thank you.

Antonio's eyes widened when he heard the thank you and his eyes followed Kevin down the hallway. He was expecting something terrible to happen like hell freezing over or Kevin to be struck by lightning or melt, but nothing happened.

"Is he bi-polar?" he asked himself. "What the hell…?"


	73. Missing Flute

"What are you doing?" Kevin grumbled once he completely his nightly training and approached the bench where Antonio and the water bottles were seated. He grabbed his bottle and took a sip before he pointed to Antonio's Samuraizer.

"The Claw Zord," Antonio grinned. He pulled out the folding Zord, "Mentor asked me to try and fix it earlier. I figured I would give it a shot while I have some time."

"You should be training," Kevin growled. "We're meant to be working together."

"It's late," Antonio yawned, "I couldn't train even if I wanted to."

"You call yourself a Samurai," Kevin turned away from Antonio before he really started to get impatient. After his talk with Mia the other day he understood he needed to smarten up. If he couldn't get along with Antonio, the best thing he could do was take a step back before he started yelling. He was willing to try that, especially if it meant he would be able to see Mia again.

-Samurai-

The following morning Mike and Emily were out at the park, enjoying the beautiful day after a long morning of exercise (longer for Emily once Jayden remembered he still hadn't punished her for phoning home). With all the drama surrounding Antonio and Kevin, as well as the troubles between Mia and Kevin as a result of the drama, Mike and Emily just wanted to get away from the house and enjoy a few hours to themselves.

They sat by the river, hiding behind a bush while they played with their folding Zords. No one could see them where they were sitting, so they knew it was safe. Worse come to worse, if someone did catch them, the folding Zords looked liked toys and could easily be passed off as Power Ranger merchandise.

"Tell your bear to stop sitting on my ape," Emily giggled as she watched the two miniature Zords play with each other.

"Why?" Mike teased, "He likes her. He's just having a little fun."

"You wouldn't like it if I sat on you," Emily said as she picked the bear off her Zord and set it a few inches away from her ape. She giggled when the bear looked up at her and she could have sworn he was giving her a look.

The two Zords went back to playing with each other when Emily rolled her eyes. Mike chuckled before remembering he had brought some entertainment for himself and Emily. He reached to his bag and pulled out her flute.

Emily frowned, "Mike, how did you…?"

"I saw it on the table," he told her, "I figured you could maybe play something for me?"

"No way!" Emily shook her head as she snatched her flute, "There are other people around!"

"So?" Mike asked. "What does it matter? It's not like their opinion matters. Besides, they'll probably agree with me. You're amazing."

"No," Emily set her flute down. "I don't play in front of people. You're lucky I play for you."

"Please!" Mike begged. He used the best puppy face he could muster, hoping it would get Emily to change her mind. He saw her biting her lip hesitantly. He glanced down at the folding Zords, "C'mon, guys, help me out here!"

The two Zords stopped their playing and turned to Emily. She glared at Mike.

"Okay, that's not fair."

"C'mon, Em."

"No."

"Please?"

"No…"

"Please!"

"No…?"

Mike continued to pout and Emily couldn't take it. She let out a deep breath and looked around. The closest people to her and Mike were still quite a distance away. It wasn't like they would really be able to hear her play anyways. She turned back to Mike and gave in.

"Fine," she picked up her flute, "One song. But you have to do something for me afterwards."

"Like what?" Mike asked.

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know yet. But you owe me."

"Deal," Mike nodded.

-Samurai-

Anything, and everything Kevin did, Antonio was doing as well. As their punishment continued, they continued to do everything together. The slept in the same room together, ate the same food, trained together, relaxed together, and hung out together. It was driving them both crazy.

"There's only one fork left," Antonio muttered as he pulled out the only clean fork left in the house. He glanced over at Kevin, "What do we do?"

Kevin snatched the fork from Antonio's hand, "What are you doing to do?" he asked. "I'm eating my lunch."

"Hey! Dar esa vuelta!"

"What?" Kevin frowned as he took a seat and turned to Antonio, "Dude, we already know you're different, can't you at least try and be normal?"

Mia sighed and shook her head as she watched from the doorway. She turned to Jayden, "At least they haven't killed each other yet."

"They need to figure this out soon," Jayden nodded, "Any longer and we might be in for some real trouble soon."

"What are you saying?"

"It's do or die for them," Jayden said. He grabbed Mia's Samuraizer from her pocket and shut it off. "Next Nighlok, they're going alone."

"What?" Mia gasped, "they could get hurt, or killed or…"

Antonio and Kevin are excellent warriors," Jayden told her, "Once they learn to work together, nothing can defeat them. They just need a push. When Mike and Emily get back home, they'll do the same."

"But Jayden…!"

"That's an order."

Mia looked up at Jayden, completely stunned, as he handed her her Samuraizer back. She hoped his plan was foolproof, because right now it looked like he was throwing Kevin and Antonio out to the wolves.

But what she didn't notice was that Jayden hadn't turned off his Samuraizer. He never would. He knew what was best for his team.

-Samurai-

Mike returned to his secluded spot with Emily with take-out lunches for the two of them. He had a smile on his face until he saw Emily with a panicked look on hers. She was searching around for something, as if something had gone missing. He approached her with the meals and set them on the grass before he touched her arm.

"What are you looking for?" he asked.

"My flute!" Emily cried. She tossed Mike's bag aside carelessly as she searched underneath, "It… it's gone!"

"What?" Mike frowned. He looked at the ground and saw even the folding Zords were looking around for it. "It's a flute, Em, it doesn't disappear."

"It did!" Emily nodded. "I… I… I set it down by your bag and took the Zords to the river for a little dip and when we got back… it was gone!"

"What?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders as she looked at Mike. He knew she was upset and probably terrified. The flute was her most valued possession. He knew she couldn't bear the thought of losing it. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the reality, as the flute was nowhere in sight.

"I set it down right here!" Emily pointed to the spot in the grass where she had left her flute, thinking it was safe to put down. She hadn't gone very far and she had checked up on hers and Mike's stuff while she had been at the lake. No one could have stolen her flute without her knowing. Who would want to steal a flute, anyways?

Mike knelt down to examine the spot. He noticed there was a strange shine in the grass and when he touched it his fingers were instantly covered in slime.

"I'd hate to say it, Em," Mike chuckled as he wiped the slime onto his jeans, "Your flute melted."

"This isn't funny!" Emily punched Mike in the arm, "Where is it?"

"I don't know, Em," Mike shrugged, "But it might have to do with the slime. Let's see what the…"

Mike paused. He had pulled out his Samuraizer but the signal was jammed. He couldn't call the others to ask them about the slime and it was likely he couldn't receive any calls or alerts from them either.

"Something's blocking the signal," Mike told Emily as he looked up at her. She furrowed her brow.

"Mike, that's a Samuraizer, not a cell phone…"

"No, I mean whatever left this slime must have jammed the Samuraizer signals somehow."

"You mean like a Nighlok?" Emily asked.

Mike nodded his head, "I guess. What else would leave gooey slime in its wake?"

Emily glared at her boyfriend, "Are you seriously trying to tell me a Nighlok just walked over here without me noticing and he took my flute?"

"Maybe…"

"What would a Nighlok want with my flute?" Emily screamed as she punched Mike's arm again. He groaned and rubbed the sore spot before he pulled Emily in comfortingly.

"We'll find your flute," he promised her. He grabbed his bag and the lunch he bought, "C'mon, let's go tell the others about this. Maybe Jayden will know what to do."

"But, my flute…"

"We'll find it."


	74. Meaningful Objects

"Where are Kevin and Antonio?" Mike asked as he, Mia, Jayden and Emily took their seats around the table after Mike and Emily returned home and said they needed to talk about what happened while they had been at the park.

"They went out for a jog," Jayden answered him. "They figured a little fresh air and a change of scenery would help them."

"What did you guys want to talk about?" Mia asked. Mike looked over to Emily who was still upset about losing her flute.

"Someone stole Emily's flute," Mike said as he turned back to Mia and Jayden. The pink and red Rangers exchanged looks.

"Someone stole Emily's flute?" Jayden frowned. The green Ranger nodded his head.

"Well, someone…"

"Or something," Emily interrupted him. "Mike thinks it was a Nighlok."

"A Nighlok?" Mia asked. "What would a Nighlok want with Emily's flute?"

-Samurai-

For once, Kevin found peace while with Antonio. While jogging, no words were exchanged between the two of them. Antonio was working hard to keep up, and Kevin was doing his best to ignore the gold Ranger.

As they reached the edge of one of the smaller forests in the city, Kevin thought he heard a strange and eerie laugh. He slowed to a stop and glanced over his shoulder at Antonio.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Yeah," Antonio didn't say anymore. He didn't want to step on Kevin's toes.

"I have to check it out," Kevin said.

He bolted off but Antonio was hot on his trail. He followed Kevin until the blue Ranger stopped behind a boulder and yanked him down.

"Nighloks," Kevin whispered to Antonio before both boys glanced over the rock, trying to keep their cover.

Octoroo, Master Xandred's advisor, finished counting up various objects the Moogers and the latest Nighlok, Antberry, had collected.

"It's brilliant!" Octoroo chirped happily as he turned to the Nighlok. Throwing exactly 30 meaningful objects into the well will cause so much sorrow that the river will rise and fill the well once again!"

He reached behind his back, into what Kevin and Antonio could only assume was a pocket or a pouch and pulled out a large axe. He handed it to the Nighlok.

"You must chop up the objects with this," Octoroo told the Nighlok as he held up the axe. "It's made from Sanzu Riverbed rock. Before it dried up, the well was the Nighlok's main portal."

Kevin had heard enough. He turned around and leaned against the rock. Antonio watched the Nighloks for a few moments more before he looked at Kevin.

"This isn't good," he said.

Kevin growled and shook his head, "No shit, Sherlock. I'm calling Jayden…"

"Dude, we have to handle this on our own, remember?" Antonio grabbed the Samuraizer from Kevin before the blue Ranger could make the call. "We're two different teams."

"You can't be serious," Kevin groaned. He snatched his Samuraizer back.

Antonio nodded his head, "Look, I want to go back to the others just as much as you do, but I know Jayden. Once he's made up his mind about something, he's not going to forget about it. We'll need to work together."

Kevin shook his head and growled, "Antonio, this is serious…"

"Don't you want to see Mia?"

Kevin turned his head and looked at Antonio.

"What?"

"C'mon," Antonio shrugged, "The pieces aren't that hard to put together. Jayden's keeping us from hanging with the others and Mia's your girlfriend. Surely you miss her."

"That's none of your business."

"Let's just get the stuff away from the Nighloks and prove to Jayden and the others that we can at least work together. I'm not saying you have to like me, but this is the only way we'll end our punishment."

"No," Kevin shook his head and opened his Samuraizer. Before he could make the call, Antonio covered the screen with his hand. He looked Kevin in the eye.

"Fine, then. Do it for Mia. You've already hurt her once, what do you think is going to happen if you let your issues with me keep you from her? She's patient, but don't you think that maybe her patience will run out? Especially with Jayden still single and…"

"Don't you dare!" Kevin shoved Antonio into the rock before he tried to contact Jayden, but the Samuraizer wasn't working. He let go of Antonio and glared at the device. "It's not connecting."

Antonio frowned and pulled out his Samuraizer. He didn't want to call Jayden, but there had to be a reason why the Samuraizer wasn't working. Unfortunately, his Samuraizer was also being a pain.

"Our signals are blocked," he said.

Kevin groaned. His day had just gone from bad to worse. Not only was he forced to live, breathe and sleep with Antonio, but now he was forced to battle with the gold Ranger as well, without the chance of calling for help.

"Give me strength," he muttered to himself before hearing Octoroo calling for him and Antonio to come out of hiding. Both boys turned to each other before hearing a blast. Just before the flames engulfed them, they both morphed and jumped out of their hiding spot, swords at the ready.

"Who are you?" Kevin asked.

"Ooh, ah, ooh, I'm Octoroo!" the squid face Nighlok answered, "I'm the brains behind Master Xandred, and the one who will finally destroy you!"

Octoroo turned to his Nighlok partner, signalling for him to attack the Rangers. Kevin and Antonio rushed forward but were quickly slimed by the Ant Nighlok. Now, covered in slippery slime, both Antonio and Kevin couldn't hold onto their weapons. It slipped right out of their hands and neither could get a grip.

"Forget your sword, Antonio," Kevin called once he realised the slim was too slippery, "We have to take it to the slime ball!"

He rushed forward and challenged the Nighlok in a hand to hand combat, but every blow he threw slipped right off the Nighlok.

Antonio and Kevin were both slipping off the Nighlok until Octoroo butt in and with his staff he blasted the two Rangers away.

-Samurai-

Jayden could feel his Samuraizer going off in his pocket, but he ignored it as he searched the park with Emily, Mia and Mike for Emily's missing flute. He knew the three other Rangers had turned their Samuraizers off, as per his orders, so they were unaware of the Nighlok activity, but he was certain Kevin and Antonio were on their way, if not already facing the Nighlok causing trouble in the city. He was going to give them a little more time before he showed up to help. Hopefully, it would be enough time for the two of them to put their differences aside for good.

"I don't see anything," he called to Emily after searching his given section of the park, "Whoever took off with your flute is long gone at this point."

Emily sighed sadly and let herself fall to the ground. She still couldn't believe she had lost her precious instrument. She shouldn't have left it when she went to the river, even if she hadn't gone far.

"Who would take a flute, though?" Mia asked as she walked over.

"I still think this is a Nighlok's nasty trick," Mike said. He was last to join the group and he was playing with his fingers. He approached Jayden, "We found some slime where Emily's flute had been before it went missing. I found some more by the jungle gym. Any idea what it is?"

Jayden shook his head, "I wouldn't know."

"Why would a Nighlok steal my flute?" Emily asked her boyfriend. "As far as I know it's not a magic flute. It just makes music, and only if you play it right!"

"We'll find it, Em," Mike knelt down and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Whoever took it doesn't know who their messing with."


	75. Working Together

After their far from pleasant landing, Antonio and Kevin hid themselves behind a circle of boulders as Moogers rushed past them. Antonio was busy trying to create a sling for his arm. He wasn't sure if it was broken or sprained, but it was hurting him a lot and he didn't want to aggravate whatever injury was there.

Kevin was playing with his Samuraizer. He found it odd that when they were close to the well and the Nighloks, the Samuraizer wouldn't connect and now that they were away, he could reach Jayden, but the red Ranger wasn't answering him.

"I told you he wants us to deal with this ourselves," Antonio muttered. Kevin shook his head.

"No, he would never put us in danger," he said. "I'm going to try Mia."

He furrowed his brow when he tried her Samuraizer and it wouldn't make a noise. She had turned it off – at least, Kevin assumed she had turned it off. He tried Mike and Emily. Same result.

"We have to go back there and stop them," Antonio said to Kevin once he got his arm in the sling.

Kevin looked at the gold Ranger and shook his head, "You can't fight with that arm. I'll do it alone. You hide and… well, you can just disappear for all I care."

Before Antonio could stop Kevin, the blue Ranger bolted off and started taking on the Moogers that were searching for them. Antonio grumbled loudly as he watched before deciding he wasn't going to stand back. Now was as good a time as any to prove to Kevin he was a good addition to the team, that though he was different and silly, he was committed and strong.

Kevin was knocked over by one of the Moogers and Antonio jumped in its way, kicking it aside before it could hurt Kevin and finishing it, and the others off.

Kevin got to his feet and looked at the gold Ranger, surprised.

"I told you to hide," he said.

"You would never have told the others to hide," Antonio pointed out. He stood toe-to-toe with Kevin and glared up at the older Samurai, "I don't know what you're deal is, but we're in this together, like it or not."

"No, you're not a Samurai. You…"

"Being a Samurai is more than just following traditions," Antonio interrupted. "It's about being a warrior; a protector of all things good. If people need to be saved, doesn't a Samurai try to help?"

Kevin clenched his fists, "But you're not…"

"Didn't you hear me?" Antonio shouted. "I know this isn't a game! I know it's not a joke! This is dangerous! I could get myself killed. Someone else could be killed! I'm not whacking harmless plants with Jayden in his backyard anymore. I'm fighting real monsters. I've trained myself for years to get to where I am now, but I know I need to improve."

"There's something we can agree on," Kevin scoffed.

"Then why won't you teach me?" Antonio asked. He placed his hand on Kevin's shoulder, "You keep telling me I'm not a Samurai. You keep saying I'm not doing anything right. You haven't done a thing to help me correct my mistakes. I'm not going to learn overnight."

"You have to be willing to learn, though," Kevin growled. "You can't goof off all the time! Even Mike and Emily are more responsible than you sometimes, and they're just kids!"

"I want to learn," Antonio nodded his head. "I want nothing more to learn. Jayden already taught me, and from that I taught myself. You claim to be one of the best. I know I can learn from you. Please, can we just… not fight?"

"You can't goof off anymore, Antonio," Kevin said. "No more joking in training, no more insensitive comments, no more treating everything like a game. This is serious business. You need to be serious."

"You need to relax," Antonio smirked before holding out his hand for a shake, "I promise I'll straighten up if you pull that stick out of your ass. We'll put our differences aside from now on, stop this Nighlok, get that stuff back to its owners and maybe, when we get home, we'll be a full team again."

Kevin nodded and gave Antonio his hand, "You still piss me off."

"I have that effect on most people," Antonio chuckled.

Kevin shook his head and rolled his eyes before leading the way back to the well and the Nighlok. When they reached a small ravine, he climbed it first. The side of the ravine was covered in mud, making it slippery, but the climb was made a little easier by the roots and branches coming from the earth wall. Kevin made it up no problem. When he turned back to check up on Antonio, not wanting to leave him behind, he saw the gold Ranger was strolling. He only had one arm to use and couldn't get a good enough grip on anything to pull himself up.

Kevin could leave him there and go off on his own, but after everything he had been through and everything that had been said and done between not only him and Antonio but him and Mia as well he knew it wasn't worth fighting anymore. He didn't want to be angry. He didn't want to be shunned from the team. He wanted everyone to get along. He wanted to go home and be with his friends and girlfriend.

He glanced down at Antonio before holding his hand out. The gold Ranger looked up and smiled as he accepted the help and Kevin pulled him up.

"Thanks," Antonio smiled.

"Let's keep going," Kevin nodded.

Antonio looked down at his arm as they walked. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

"Kevin, that's Nighlok's a slippery creature, right?"

"Did you only just clue into that?" Kevin chuckled.

Antonio removed the sling from around his neck and ripped it in two. He handed one piece to Kevin.

"When we get to the Nighlok, tie your sword to your wrist," he said. Kevin turned to the gold Ranger. How hadn't he thought of that? It was simple and yet genius. Antonio grinned, "We won't lose our grip. We can stop this guy."

Kevin smiled and nodded, "Good idea, Antonio. C'mon, let's get that stuff back."


	76. One Team Again

Antberry had been sharpening his axe for hours while the Moogers and Octoroo waited. Unfortunately, his slime had dulled the blade and it wouldn't have been able to cut through much. Octoroo needed the meaningful objects to be chopped into pieces before they were thrown in the well, and Antberry had that honour.

After so many hours sharpening the axe, Antberry jumped up with a laugh.

"Finally! It's done!"

"Get started, already!" Octoroo barked as a Mooger picked up one of the objects – a flute – and held it out for Antberry to chop.

Excitedly, the Nighlok lifted his axe but before he could bring it down a miniature dragon Zord flew into his chest, knocking him off balance and sending the axe flying out of his hands.

"Not so fast!" Kevin cried as he and Antonio arrived, fully morphed.

Octoroo couldn't be bothered with the Rangers at this point as he watched the axe land straight inside the well. Now he would never find it and his plans for filling the well were ruined.

"What are you waiting for?" he shouted to Antberry as the Rangers finished off the Moogers, "Attack them!"

Kevin and Antonio looked to each other before turning to the Nighlok. They secured their weapons to their wrists and nodded before charging. Now that their swords wouldn't slip out of their hands, it was easier to strike the Nighlok.

Octoroo wasn't going to stick around to get his butt kicked. Now that he had lost his axe he needed to come up with a new plan to flood the earth and allow the Nighloks to travel between the Sanzu River and the human world.

"Seeya later," he called to Antberry before disappearing suddenly through a portal.

"We need a way to beat this guy!" Antonio called to Kevin as they fought the Nighlok. They weren't losing their grip on their weapons, but the slime covering the Nighlok was still making matters difficult. While their swords were causing damage, they would slide right off him before anything serious could be done to the Nighlok.

"Together," Kevin nodded. "He can't slip away if we attack him at once."

"Are you sure?"

"It's worth a shot," Kevin held out his sword, "Spin Sword!"

"Barracuda Blade!"

"Dragon Slash!"

"Barracuda Bite!"

They struck the Nighlok together and with nowhere to slip to the Nighlok took the brunt of both attacks. He collapsed to the ground, defeated.

Antonio bounced on the balls of his feet as he looked at Kevin, "We did it, amigo!"

Kevin nodded his head, "We did."

"That was easy," Antonio commented. He held his hand in the air for a high-five, "We make a good team."

Kevin couldn't leave his new friend hanging. After all, without Antonio's help he wouldn't have been able to defeat the Nighlok. Not on his own. Antonio had been the one to come up with the incredibly simple, yet brilliant idea to tie their weapons to their hands and it had worked. Kevin never would have thought of that; at least, probably not until it was too late.

He rewarded his friend with a high-five. Then, while Antonio celebrated another victory, Kevin turned to the pile of stolen valuables.

"I know we said we were going to return these," he said, "but we have no idea what belongs to who."

The smile fell from Antonio's face when he realised Kevin's dilemma. He walked over to the pile and started to pick through it. There were charms, necklaces, CDs, pictures, books, and stuffed toys. All of these were things people cherished and valued and they needed to be returned quickly. Antonio picked up a large panda bear and turned back to Kevin.

"Is there a symbol we can use?" he asked, "Something that will send this stuff back to where it was taken from?"

Kevin smacked his hand to his forehead. That was twice in one day where Antonio had a simple yet smart idea. While the idea behind symbol power was to use it to defend oneself and the world from the Nighloks, it could occasionally be used to help the Rangers and humans in other tasks. Jayden had already used a symbol to help a boy speak with his father overseas. Returning stolen objects wouldn't be against the code.

"Good idea, Antonio," Kevin chuckled as he pulled out his Samuraizer. He was about to trace the Kanji in the air when one of the objects caught his eye. He looked down and noticed the flute the Nighlok had been about to chop. It resembled Emily's quite a bit.

He knelt down and picked it up. This could be returned personally.

-Samurai-

"I know it won't be the same, Em, but we can get you a new flute," Mia tried to comfort the yellow Ranger as the four of them returned home empty handed. Emily crossed her arms over her chest.

"You don't get it."

"I still think it was a Nighlok, dude," Mike said. He looked over to Jayden, "Are you sure you have no idea what that slime stuff was?"

"Positive," Jayden nodded his head before splitting from the others. He walked to the table in the common room and looked at the map. His Samuraizer had settled on the way home and he wanted to make sure it was because Kevin and Antonio had, in fact, stopped whatever Nighlok or monster had been causing trouble. He smiled to himself when he saw a blue and gold symbol headed to the house.

Hopefully that meant the end of their feud.

"It wouldn't be a Nighlok," Emily muttered to Mike as the three Rangers joined Jayden. He put the map away and turned to his friends. Emily looked very irritated with Mike, which was understandable considering how frustrated she was, "if a Nighlok stole my flute I would know!"

"What else would leave slime?" Mike shrugged. He glanced at Jayden, "Maybe we should turn our Samuraizers back on. I know you want Kevin and Antonio to deal with their problems on their own, but we're going to have our own problem here if Emily doesn't…"

"Ho, ho, ho!" the four Rangers heard a laugh from the doorway and exchanged looks. Kevin and Antonio walked into the common room with big grins on their faces.

"Why do you two look happy?" Mike asked curiously. He had never seen either Ranger happy when they were together. Surely one run through the city wouldn't have changed their minds about each other.

"Why shouldn't we look happy?" Kevin shrugged. He looked to Antonio, "We did save the day, after all."

"What?" Mia frowned, "What do you mean?"

Kevin looked at Jayden, "I've learned my lesson. Antonio may be… annoying, but he is a Samurai. He's one of us, whether I like it or not."

"Hopefully you do like it," Mike said, "I don't know how much longer I can put up with sharing a room with Jayden. I miss you not needing an alarm clock."

"What exactly caused this epiphany?" Mia asked her boyfriend as she shot him a confused look. "Only a few hours ago you were ready to knock Antonio out. Now you two are laughing like Santa?"

"When we were running we heard a strange laugh," Kevin explained.

"A cackle," Antonio added with a chuckle. Kevin rolled his eyes.

"Whatever it was, it was weird," he said. "Anyways, we decided to check it out."

"What it a personality changer?" Mike teased. "Right now, that would be the only logical explanation for why you two are so… not fighting."

"It was a Nighlok," Kevin said.

"I told you!" Mike called as he turned to Emily, "There was a Nighlok out there."

"A Nighlok?" Mia turned to glare at Jayden, "You had us turn off our Samuraizers when there was a Nighlok in the city?"

"Your Samuraizers probably wouldn't have picked up on the Nighlok anyways," Antonio shrugged. "Ours didn't work when he was near. Something jammed the signals."

"Wait," Kevin frowned, "You guys had your Samuraizers turned off?"

"That's not important," Jayden said. "What really matters here is you guys managed to work together."

"We did," Kevin nodded, "We defeated the Nighlok and returned all the stuff he stole… well, almost all of it."

Kevin reached into his sweater before he pulled out a flute. Emily's eyes lit up when she saw it.

"From what we gathered, the Nighlok and some squid face stole cherished items," Antonio explained. "They were going to throw everything down a well. We stopped them before they could."

"My flute!" Emily jumped into Kevin's arms, thrilled he had found and returned her flute.

Mike grinned proudly and looked to Jayden and Mia, "I told you it was a Nighlok."

Mia rolled her eyes and ignored him. It didn't matter to her if a Nighlok had come or not, or if it had been a Nighlok that had stolen Emily's flute. She just wanted to make sure the problem between Antonio and Kevin was finally resolved once and for all. She was not going to put up with them arguing anymore.

"So… are you two really okay?" she asked hopefully. Kevin let go of Emily and looked at his girlfriend. He nodded his head.

"The guy will still piss me off," he said, "but so does Mike. I think I can learn to work with both of them."

"Kevin's agreed to help me become a better Samurai," Antonio smiled. He placed his hand on Kevin's shoulder. "How about we get started now?"

Kevin shrugged his hand off, "There's something else I would rather do," he said. Antonio saw Kevin glance over at Mia and he got the message. He took a step back and nodded his head.

"Right, yeah… I guess… maybe I should go put ice on this arm," he grabbed his sore arm and headed to the kitchen to give Kevin and Mia a little space to reconnect.

Jayden had also caught the look and figured out what was going on. He called to Mike and Emily.

"Why don't we go show Antonio where we keep the ice and the peas," he said, leading the green and yellow Rangers away. As they left, Mia chuckled.

"They aren't the most subtle Samurai," she turned to Kevin. He nodded and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Look… about everything that happened… I'm really sorry."

"I know," Mia shrugged. "We talked, remember. I'm just glad you chose to get along with him instead of break his neck."

"Actually, I think it was something along the lines of _get along with Antonio or never see you again_. Really, once I got my head out of my ass, the choice was simple."

"Glad to hear it," Mia smiled just before Kevin pulled her in.

"Thanks for being patient," he whispered into her ear before he kissed her neck. "I know I can be a pain in the butt sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Mia pushed away from Kevin with a teasing grin, "You don't seriously believe you're only a pain sometimes, do you?"

"I would like to think…"

"You're wound up so tight I'm still searching for the crank!"

"Mia!" Kevin chuckled. She gave him a smirk as she pulled back into him.

"You're disciplined," she told him. She hugged him tightly, "That's what I like about you. There is no nonsense. I don't have to worry about you doing something stupid… well, aside from this thing with Antonio. You did have me worried."

"Well, I learned my lesson," Kevin nodded. "Being a Samurai is more than just being born into the family and learning the techniques. It's what's in your heart. With a little effort, anyone can be a Samurai."

"Anyone?" Mia asked.

"Well, a little effort and a lot of practice," Kevin smiled.

Over in the kitchen Emily caught a glimpse of the blue and pink Rangers as they reconnected and furrowed her brow. They had finished talking and now they were making up for lost time, or at least, she hoped that was what they were doing.

"I'm all for them having a moment," she frowned as Jayden walked by, "but could they at least do their couple thing here in the kitchen. I was promised cupcakes."

Jayden chuckled and pat the top of her head, "We'll get the cupcakes; don't you worry."

Emily glanced back out at Kevin and Mia, "It doesn't look like it'll be anytime soon…"


	77. Simple Things

Normally Mike was a laid back guy. He didn't stress himself out with anything. He usually just never cared enough to let the stress build up. If there was something important that needed to be done right away, he would do it right away. If he deemed it wasn't important, he wouldn't do it. Simple as that. No worries.

But, for the first time in his life Mike had something really important that he needed to do. He had known it since he changed the month on the calendar and he saw one of the dates was circled and coloured and decorated: Emily's birthday.

Her birthday was fast approaching. It was this weekend and Mike still didn't have any ideas for her. He didn't know what he was going to do to help her celebrate, he didn't know what he was going to get her… hell, had it not been for the colour on the calendar he wouldn't have even known her birthday was coming up. Right now, all he knew was that she was turning seventeen.

He was hitting his head with his hand as he paced in the kitchen. Jayden, Antonio and Emily were outside getting a little more training in after their early morning (Jayden's way of keeping Emily busy), while Mia and Kevin were inside baking the cupcakes Kevin had promised the house (especially Emily).

Kevin was guiding Mia's hand as they mixed the icing. By now, Mia didn't need much help when it came to making icing. This was just an excuse for them to get close and hold each other. When he thought it looked good, Kevin offered to let Mia try a bit of the icing while he looked over at Mike.

"You're going to pace right through the floor if you keep this up, you know that, right?" he chuckled.

Mike glanced up and stopped in his tracks. He glared at Kevin.

"Just wait until its Mia's birthday," he muttered. "Then you'll watch as I laugh at you."

"Do you need any help finding a gift?" Mia asked the green Ranger. "I've got a few ideas if you wanted…"

"You wouldn't know what to get a seventeen year old girl," Mike waved her off and returned to his pacing. Mia and Kevin exchanged looks before chuckling. Mike definitely was stressing out.

"Mike," Mia gently called to him, "I was a seventeen year old girl once. It wasn't that long ago, actually."

"I… it…" Mike's eyes lit up. He rushed over to the counter and leaned forward, looking Mia in the eyes, "Perfect! What should I get her?"

Mia grinned, "Something thoughtful."

The smile fell from Mike's face and Kevin could almost literally hear it shattering as it hit the floor. He chuckled to himself and shook his head.

Mike glared at the pink Ranger, "You're my advisor on all things girl? Are you kidding me? I would be better off asking Mentor Ji what a seventeen year old girl wants for her birthday!"

"Well, she's happy with cupcakes," Kevin commented when the oven timer went off. He slipped on the oven mits to pull out the first batch of treats. "She's a simple kid."

Mia nodded her head, "Exactly. I doubt it has to be anything big and fancy. Just get her something meaningful; something special. As long as you put a lot of thought into it, I'm sure she'll love it."

"I think Mia's right," Kevin said. "I mean, you saw how she lit up when Antonio and I found her flute. I can only guess she was a mess when it was missing. It's not like it's a special flute or anything. It's just a block of musical wood that her sister gave her."

"Same with Monkey the ape," Mia chuckled.

Mike took a deep breath and shook his head, "You guys are no help."

He reached across the counter to steal a cupcake but Kevin smacked his hand away.

"They haven't cooled yet," he warned the green Samurai. "You can have _one_ when they've been cooled and iced."

Mike glared at the older Rangers before turning to leave. He needed somewhere else to pace. No one in this room was being helpful.

-Samurai-

Outside, Jayden stood away from his best friend and Emily and watched as they trained. They didn't really need any extra practice, but with Emily's birthday only a few days away he wanted to give Kevin, Mia and Mike a little time to get something planned. He didn't expect anything big to come from the day, only a few surprises, but that wasn't going to happen with Emily walking around the house. She couldn't know what they were planning.

Antonio and Emily locked swords and Antonio grinned.

"I saw the calendar," he said to Emily. "This Saturday, huh?"

"My birthday," Emily nodded, breaking the lock and hitting Antonio's arm. She grinned proudly.

"Do you have anything special planned?" Antonio asked her.

She shook her head, "Nothing really. It's my first birthday away from home. I don't know what to do."

"What did you used to do at home?" Antonio put his sword down as Jayden walked over, marking the end of their training. He handed them both a water bottle as Emily shrugged her shoulders.

"Nothing big, especially after Serena got sick. It was usually just a card, a cake and a present."

"Was this before or after your sister got sick?"

"After," Emily nodded, "Before she got sick there was a little more celebrating. My grandparents would always come to the farm for the day and they would make dinner. Mom and dad would decorate the living room and Serena would take me out to the field and we would just… play."

"Sounds fun," Antonio smiled. He glanced at Jayden, "For my birthday my father would always take me fishing."

"Don't you always go fishing?" Emily asked and Jayden nodded. It seemed like a weird thing to do for his birthday, considering it was no different from any other day.

Antonio chuckled, "Yes. But on my birthday I got to keep one of the fish I caught as a pet. It was fun when I was a kid."

"It's always the little things," Emily smiled. "I don't even remember what my parents got me last year. The only thing I can remember was spending the entire day in Serena's room with my parents playing Monopoly. Thankfully, it was one of the few days where Serena had a little more energy."

Suddenly, the yellow Ranger looked up and prodded Antonio in the ribs, "But you're not sick. What are you getting me?"

Antonio laughed and tried to push her away, "What? Who says I'm getting you anything. I'm the new guy, remember? Ask Jayden."

Emily turned to the red Ranger, "He's got a point."

"You'll find out on your birthday, Emily," Jayden smirked. He gestured to the house, "It's almost lunch. Why don't you we change out of our training clothes and join the others?"

"You both suck," Emily muttered.

She left for her room while Jayden and Antonio went to theirs. On the way they stopped by Mike, who was pacing in the common room. Antonio and Jayden exchanged looks before Jayden shrugged and left to get changed. Antonio waited for Jayden to leave before he approached Mike.

"What are you doing?" he asked, startling the green Ranger. Mike hadn't seen him coming and jumped a foot in the air when he heard Antonio speak. He turned to the fisherman.

"A little warning next time, man?"

"Something tells me you would have jumped either way," Antonio chuckled. "So, what are you doing? Shouldn't you be planning for this weekend?"

"You would think," Mike nodded. He sighed loudly, "I'm drawing a blank."

"That's not good."

"I have no idea what to do, what to get her, or even what she wants! It's her first birthday away from home. I want it to be special."

"I asked her about it," Antonio said. Mike turned to him before grabbing his friend by the arms.

"Dude, you have to help me."

"Calmarse, amigo," Antonio laughed, "I don't think you have anything to worry about. I'm sure she would be happy with a cake and a game of Monopoly."

"What?" Mike frowned and shook his head, "Are you kidding me? A game night? Dude, you're just as bad as Mia and Kevin. We could have a game night any night."

"It's just a thought," Antonio shrugged before he saw Jayden leaving the bedroom, signalling it was his turn to get changed. He gave Mike a pat on the shoulder as he walked off, "Good luck, mi amigo!"

Mike glared at the gold Ranger as he left and cursed under his breath. Why was this so hard?


	78. Finding the Perfect Gift

No matter how much he thought Mike couldn't figure out what to get his girlfriend for her birthday. He had no clue. He didn't know what she wanted, what she needed or what she would like. He was starting to wonder if he really knew her at all.

It was the middle of the night and he couldn't sleep. Her birthday was only days away and he was feeling the pressure. He knew that he needed to buy her the best gift. He was her boyfriend after all and cared for her the most. He wanted to get her something that would really make her happy. Something that would make her smile, but he didn't want it to be something that could be done every day. It needed to be special, one of a kind, different.

He got out of bed and crept out of the room without waking Kevin. He dragged his feet on the floor as he made his way to the common room to play a video game. He figured maybe if he cleared his mind he would come up with a brilliant idea. It usually worked like that when he distracted himself with video games.

But upon entering the common room he saw the light was already on and someone was already in the room. He made his way inside and found Mia stuffing yellow tissue paper into a pink gift bag. He furrowed his brow as he slumped onto his stool.

"You're kidding me," he groaned, "you had an idea?"

"Of course I did," Mia chuckled, choosing not to take his comment as an insult. She knew it was late and he was already stressing out enough as it was. "I've been debating between this and something else for a few weeks now. I think she'll like what I got her, though."

"You had two ideas?" Mike asked. He dropped his head into his hands, "I can't even come up with one."

"We told you, she's a simple girl," Mia smirked. "Just get her something you know she already likes."

"What did you get her?" Mike asked. He hoped Mia's idea would maybe spark something for him.

"A couple of picture frames," Mia answered him, showing Mike the receipts. "She's got a bunch of pictures of home and us, but nowhere to put them. She keeps them all in the drawer by her bed. I thought maybe she would like to stick some on her night table."

"Picture frames?" Mike frowned.

Mia nodded her head, "Yeah. She's always happiest when we're all together… or when she's with you, of course. I just figured she would like to wake up and see pictures of home and pictures of us in the morning. She looks through the pictures most nights, anyways. This will make it easier."

"That's… simple."

"I told you," Mia chuckled. "And it's less work than what Antonio wanted to get her."

"What do you mean?"

"He suggested we all chip in to get her a puppy," Mia laughed. "I think he was just kidding… but Kevin took him seriously. I think he just wants a puppy to keep her busy, though."

"Yeah, they could both run around the backyard," Mike chuckled and nodded his head. He glanced over at the discarded tissue paper on the floor as well as the wrapping paper. "Have you been up all night?"

"The guys can't wrap presents to save their lives," Mia nodded. "I offered to help them out. I figured I would do it now while Emily's asleep."

"What did they get her?"

Mia reached under the table and pulled out two more presents. She placed them on the table before pointing to the present wrapped in gold and red paper.

"Jayden and Antonio got her a dog…"

"You wrapped a puppy?"

"No," Mia laughed, "A stuffed dog. You know, because Antonio suggested we get her a dog. It's a joke gift, but I think it's cute. The dog kind of reminds me of her."

"In what way?" Mike frowned. "Emily looks nothing like a dog."

"Small, yellow, cuddly and cute," Mia smiled.

"What did Kevin get her?" Mike pointed to the blue bag with yellow paper.

"A yellow shirt with _WARNING: Deadlier than appears_ printed on the chest," Mia laughed. Mike chuckled and shook his head. The t-shirt spoke the truth after all. He glanced over at Mia.

"So, everyone found something to get her except me?" he asked and when Mia nodded he sighed, "Great, I'm a bad boyfriend."

"You're trying too hard," Mia told him. "Emily's simple, we keep trying to tell you..."

"She deserves more, though," Mike said. "I don't want to get her something little. I mean, your gifts are great, but I'm her boyfriend."

"Well, you're determined," Mia said as she collected the presents. She handed them to Mike, "Would you mind hiding these in your room. Emily probably wouldn't peek before her birthday, but I don't want to take that chance."

"Yeah, sure," Mike nodded as he took the gifts. "So, you don't have any suggestions for me?"

"I already told you what I thought you should get her," Mia smirked. "C'mon, Mike, it's not that hard. You love her, don't you? What's better than that?"

"You're no help," Mike tossed a discarded piece of tissue paper to Mia as she left the room. He glanced down at the three birthday presents now sitting in his lap and sighed. A t-shirt, a couple of picture frames and a stuffed dog. He knew Emily would love them all. But it was easier to buy birthday gifts for a friend. They just thought of stuff she liked and bought it for her, such as the stuffed dog and the t-shirt, or they turned everyday objects into something meaningful, such as the picture frames to hold Emily's memories of both her real family and her Samurai family.

Everyone kept telling him to think simple. They were constantly reminding him that Emily was a simple girl, though he already knew that. She was always thankful for the little things in life. Her family and friends meant the world to her. She could talk for hours about every person in her life. She always had something nice to say about every person, place or situation, even when others could only see the bad side. She loved to make people smile. She hated when her friends were hurting. All she ever wanted was to be happy and she worked hard every day to make sure she had something to smile about when she went to bed.

He decided he would sleep on it. It was getting really late, he was tired, and now he had to hide the presents from the others. Hopefully he would dream up the perfect gift for her. If not, he had a lot more thinking to do.


	79. Planning

"Mike's late," Jayden frowned as he checked the time. He turned to the other Rangers.

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "He's always late to morning training. Why does this surprise you?"

"He wasn't in his room this morning," Kevin told Emily. "I thought for sure he would be here if he was already awake."

"He had a late night last night," Mia explained. "He was up way past midnight."

"How do you know?" Emily frowned as she turned to Mia. She clearly remembered the pink Ranger going to bed at the same time as her, so how did Mia know how late Mike was up during the night?

"We both couldn't sleep," Mia said, trying to hide the fact that she had snuck out of bed after Emily fell asleep to wrap her birthday presents. "We ran into each other on the way to the kitchen. Mike was playing video games when I went back to bed."

Emily rolled her eyes. It was typical Mike. She, as well as the rest of the house, knew Mike would always spend countless hours playing video games when he couldn't sleep.

"But that wouldn't explain why he wasn't in bed when I woke up," Kevin turned to the rest of the team. "He was up and gone."

Before they could come up with any answers, Mike rushed outside, pulling his shirt over his head as he made his way over to the mat. He stumbled slightly, clearly exhausted, and grabbed his training sword.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized to the others, as he usually did in the morning when he was late to training, "I was, uh…" he glanced at Emily quickly and then looked at his friends, "I was planning out my battle strategy for Kingdom Massacre. I finally figured it out."

"Oh, the video game you were playing last night?" Mia asked and winked at Mike. He frowned at her for a moment before catching on and nodding his head.

"Yeah. Beat the boss. Now the game's really getting intense. I'll tell you about it later, though."

"Really?" Mia smiled, "Can't wait."

Emily furrowed her brow as her eyes darted back and forth between her boyfriend and her sister. She didn't care that they were getting along so well. It made things a lot easier for her, and she knew Mike and Mia saw each other as brother and sister anyways. But the last thing she thought that would ever bring them together was a video game.

"You guys definitely need more sleep," she said to the two of them before looking at Jayden, "Can we get started now?"

Jayden chuckled and nodded his head. He wasn't sure what was going on between Mia and Mike, but he was positive it had something to do with Emily's birthday. It would be the only reason the duo would be so secretive. They were trying to keep as much as they could from Emily so she would be surprised. If all went well, Emily would have no clue they were planning anything except for a few cupcakes and maybe one present.

-Samurai-

"Dude, exactly how many cupcakes are you storing away for Saturday?" Mike asked when he saw Kevin sealing up another Tupperware full of cupcakes to toss into the freezer. The blue Ranger shrugged his shoulders before pulling out third container.

"I normally don't like it when we fill Emily up with sugar and let her run loose, but considering it's going to be her birthday, I say we go full out," Kevin said. He turned to Mia, "Besides, Mike, you don't have to worry. Mia's going to have to deal with the sugar rush before bed."

"If you want to break up, just say so," Mia smirked playfully at Kevin as she glanced up from her notes. After Mike told her about his _"battle strategy"_ she knew she wanted to help him out. She loved the idea he had for Emily and was willing to do anything she could to help him make it perfect. She had already jotted down a few ideas and now the two of them were going over the best plans while Kevin continued to stock up for her birthday.

"At least you don't have to sleep with a foghorn going off all night," Kevin gestured to Mike. "Emily's going to crash at some point."

"Are you guys seriously arguing over who has the worst roommate?" Mike asked. He turned to Kevin, "Need I remind you about your crazy before bedtime routine that keeps me awake until you're tucked in?"

"That doesn't keep you up all night, though."

"No, but you do keep the lights on in the room and bathroom until you're ready to fall asleep, meaning I can't sleep until you decide to go to bed," Mike then turned to Mia, "And do I have to remind you what it's like to deal with you in the morning before you've actually woken up? Sleepy Mia is very dangerous. I don't envy Emily at all."

"He's got a point," Kevin chuckled until Mia tossed her pen at him.

"Dude, don't anger her," Mike laughed. "She was up late last night too wrapping Emily's presents perfectly."

Kevin rolled his eyes before going back to the cupcakes. As he set them in the container to freeze, he glanced back at Mike, "So what are you getting her for her birthday. You haven't told me."

"I'm not getting her anything," Mike smirked. "I'm planning something."

"What?"

"You're not allowed to know," Mike answered. He wrapped his arm around Mia's shoulder. "It's top secret. I don't want Emily finding out before her birthday and the less people know the better."

"Why does Mia get to know?" Kevin pouted.

"Because Mia's better at planning these kinds of things than you are," Mike answered with a simple shrug. "And, she's just as excited about this as I am… maybe more excited, actually…"

"More excited," Mia nodded her head and grinned.

Mike rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whatever. I know she won't blab. You, on the other hand… I'm not so sure how helpful you will be, and I doubt you can keep a secret from Emily for very long."

"She has no idea what I'm giving her for her birthday."

Mike sighed, "A big secret, Kevin. Not a secret about a t-shirt."

Kevin frowned as he placed the lid on the container and stored the cupcakes away in the very back of the freezer. He hoped Emily wouldn't find and eat them before the weekend.

"By the way, Kevin," he heard Mia call. He turned to her with a smile.

"Yes."

Mia pointed to her notes, "You'll do one better than Mike on my birthday, right? I mean, no pressure, but given I now have something to compare your future present to…"

"You suck, Mike," Kevin frowned at the green Ranger. Mike shrugged his shoulders and laughed.

"My job is to make life difficult for you, Kevin."

"Mission successful," Kevin muttered before he smiled at Mia, "Don't worry. I've got it all under control."

"Good," Mia said. She collected her papers and got up from her chair, "I'll finish with this later, Mike. I promised Antonio I would show him how to play the game with the Zords after lunch. He's probably waiting for me."

When Mia was out of earshot Mike turned his gaze to Kevin and smirked.

"You have no idea how you're going to top my gift, do you?"

"I don't even know what I'm doing for our next date," Kevin sighed.


	80. Unexpected Gift

The closer it got to her birthday, the more Emily thought she would be excited. Even though she had never really big one to make a big deal out of her birthday, especially after her sister fell ill, she had always been excited for this day every year.

Due to Serena's illness, her family was a very tight-knit group. They never took each other for granted and spent a lot of time together. Serena's condition was never showing any signs of real improvement, and neither Emily nor her parents were ever sure if Serena had many days left. According to her doctor, it was a miracle she had survived this long given her condition. Because of that, Emily's family cherished every moment they had together.

But even though they were a close group and they all loved and cared for each other, Serena was always the center of attention. Emily's parents knew that Emily would always be there the next day, but they were never positive about Serena. Day and night they would tend to their oldest daughter and occasionally Emily would feel pushed aside. It was only once a year Emily knew she had their full attention: her birthday.

So, as the day approached, Emily started to miss home more and more. She wondered what her parents would be doing or if they would even celebrate her birthday considering she was no longer home. Would Mentor Ji make an exception and let them send her a birthday card? Would she be allowed to hear from them?

She wondered about her sister as well. She had spoken to Serena recently thanks to Spike, and while that had helped her for a few days, Emily was always worried about her sister. Having watched her sister for so many years, Emily knew just how much of a roller coaster the virus could be. One day Serena could be well enough to sit up in bed and read or watch TV, and on other days she could be completely out of it, making everyone believe she was knocking on death's door. Emily wondered where her sister was now and if she would even remember it was Emily's birthday or not.

But she kept a smile on her face. She knew her friends were planning something for her. They had spoken to her about it and asked her what she normally did on her birthday. She had also seen the cupcakes that had been stashed away and she knew there was only one reason for that.

Mentor had been open about giving the Rangers a day off so they could enjoy the day, so surely they weren't just going to sit around. He had, however, warned the Rangers to be careful. Master Xandred didn't take days off, especially birthdays. So, even though the Rangers had permission to kick back, relax, and enjoy Emily's birthday, they knew they couldn't get too cozy.

All these thoughts raced through her mind as she played her flute outside. Mike and the others were inside the house, most likely getting some last minute birthday arrangements done while Emily was out of earshot. She didn't mind staying out of their way. She loved surprises and she also enjoyed getting the chance to be on her own to think. Her birthday was a happy day, and she wouldn't let anything ruin it, but she had a lot on her mind and it was nice to be able to get some time to think about things.

Suddenly, over the sound of her flute, Emily heard footsteps approaching her. She stopped playing and turned, thinking it was Mike or one of her friends coming to check up on her. She was surprised when she saw it was Dekker. Her heart froze and she opened her mouth to scream, but Dekker covered her mouth with his hand.

"I am not here to harm you," he told her. He grabbed Urumasa and Emily's eyes widened. To her surprise, though, he threw his sword aside. He looked at her, "I am unarmed. Will you scream?"

Emily remembered her last encounter with Dekker. She remembered how he didn't need his sword to hurt or kill her. There were thousands of things he could use in this garden to kill her if he wanted. In fact, after the beating her gave her with a stick, she was positive he could kill her with a blade of grass and a pebble.

Choosing not to get on his bad side, Emily nodded her head and he pulled his hand away from her mouth. He glanced at her flute.

"How long have you been playing?" he asked her.

"Since I was little…" Emily answered hesitantly. "My sister taught me…"

Dekker nodded and gestured for Emily to take a seat on the bench. She did as she was told; terrified he would hurt her if she didn't follow his orders.

When Emily was seated Dekker spoke, "I have been watching you."

"Creepy…"

"Red Ranger grows stronger," Dekker continued, ignoring Emily's comment, "especially with the newest addition to the team."

"Are you going to hurt Antonio?" Emily asked.

Dekker chuckled and shook his head, "There is no reason why any of you Rangers should be harmed by me. Not at this time."

"So, you'll be coming back?"

"Eventually," Dekker nodded, sending chills down Emily's spine. She couldn't trust the warrior, but she did trust him completely when he said he would be coming back. He wanted a duel with Jayden.

"So, why are you here?" she asked him. "If you're not going to hurt Antonio…"

"As I said; I have been watching you Rangers. Day in and day out, I have been watching you train, play and live. Slowly, but surely, you are all becoming strong opponents."

"Do you want to duel us all?"

"Nonsense," Dekker shook his head, "Only the red Ranger will ever be worthy enough to duel me."

"I still don't get why you're here, then," Emily frowned.

"I have seen Master Xandred with his latest Nighlok. You are in for trouble."

"You as in me?" Emily pointed to herself, "Or you as in all of us?"

Dekker never answered her question. Instead he grabbed Emily's flute from her hand. He examined it closely. Emily was too terrified to do anything but watch.

"You said your sister taught you to play," Dekker said, "Was this before, or after she fell ill?"

"She taught me a little when I was four," Emily remembered that day clearly. "I really started to learn after she got sick, though. It would always make her feel better when I played it."

Dekker glanced over at Urumasa before turning back to Emily. He held up her flute.

"Interesting."

"You're not going to chop it up, are you?" Emily asked. After what happened last time her enemies got her flute, Emily couldn't take any chances. If Dekker was going to destroy her flute, she wanted to know.

"I would like to borrow it," Dekker said. "I will return it to you, along with my birthday present to you. Trust me when I say, the Rangers will need it."

"How did you…?"

"Like I said, yellow Ranger, I have been watching you all;" he glanced at the flute, "May I…?"

"It's mine," Emily reached out for it but Dekker pulled it away.

"I have promised to return it."

"Yeah, like when you promised to bring me back to my friends," Emily frowned.

"You're back here with them, are you not?"

"Yeah, but if they didn't show up I would have come back dead."

"Your flute will be fine," Dekker promised her. "It will be returned to you shortly."

"Now!"

Emily jumped to try and reach the flute but Dekker held it just out of reach. After a few tries at grabbing it, Emily gave up.

"You're new to this whole permission, thing, aren't you?" she crossed her arms.

Dekker chuckled as he lowered the flute and tucked it away. He gave Emily one last look before he turned to pick up his sword and walked away.

Emily watched him leave, thankful he was gone, but upset he had taken her flute. She wasn't having much luck with it lately and hoped that for her birthday one of her friends had gotten her a chain or flute security system or something that would keep her from losing it again.

She started to wonder what Dekker wanted her flute for. She wondered why he would need it and why he wanted to get her a birthday present. She was his enemy. Well, technically speaking Jayden was his enemy, but she was Jayden's friend and therefore Dekker's enemy. He shouldn't be getting her a birthday present.

Then again, Dekker did a lot of things that he shouldn't have done. He shouldn't have let her and Kevin live when he kidnapped them. She knew he had plenty of chances to kill them both and yet he always refrained. He shouldn't have come to visit her tonight. He shouldn't have let her live tonight. He shouldn't have taken her flute, and he sure as hell shouldn't be getting her a birthday present.

But then she remembered what he said after he mentioned her present. He had said the Rangers would need it. Was he helping them? If he was, that was something else he shouldn't be doing.

Her head started to hurt from all the questions she was asking herself.

Suddenly she felt two arms wrap themselves around her and she jumped, fearing Dekker was back. She turned around to protect herself but let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was only Mike. She punched him in the chest.

"Don't do that!"

"Wow, you're jumpy," Mike chuckled, "You look like you've seen a ghost or a zombie or something."

"Or something," Emily nodded. She turned to the forest a little ways behind her, where Dekker had gone. She contemplated whether or not she should tell Mike or the others about his visit. She knew they needed to know in case he came back (which she hoped he did considering he had her flute), but at the same time she had no idea if she would be able to answer their questions.

_What did he want?_ She didn't know.

_Did he hurt you? _He took her flute…

_Did he say anything?_ It was gibberish to her anyways.

_Is he coming back?_ Of course. He wanted to duel Jayden.

She shrugged her shoulders. This was too weird. She turned back to Mike.

"Can we go back inside now?" she asked him before pointing over her shoulder, "The forest kinda freaks me out at night… I feel like someone's watching me."

"Sure," Mike nodded and took her hand. "I was coming out here to ask you if you wanted to come in anyways. The others are having a movie night and I figured you would want to join. Don't worry; there are no zombies this time."

"It's not zombies I'm worried about right now…" Emily muttered.

Mike turned to her, "Em, are you okay?"

"Surprisingly, I am," Emily nodded.

"Is there something bothering you?" Mike asked. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in closer, "We can talk. Is it your family?"

"I'm fine," Emily smiled for Mike and playfully poked his ribs, "I'll be better if I can pick the movie, though."

"But we were going to…"

"It's my birthday weekend," Emily pouted. She knew Mike couldn't resist giving in when she pouted.

Just as expected he let out a long sigh and nodded his head, "Alright. You can pick the movie. But only because you're the birthday girl."


	81. Heart

Urumasa could do many things. It was a blade capable of defeating many opponents. It was powerful, and many of those who came near the blade had never lived to tell the tale. The Rangers were the first humans in a very long time to be within slicing distance of the sword and walk away without more than a cut or a scratch.

But not only was it sharp and dangerous, but it had some special abilities. Whoever wielded the sword was granted with immortality. The sword was capable of giving life to those it deemed worthy of living. Dekker planned on using that.

He touched the hilt of the sword as he travelled along a long, dirt road, following his instincts. Gently, he whispered to the sword.

"If you do this for me," he said as he clutched Emily's flute in his other hand, "We'll be one step closer to battling the red Ranger at full strength. You and I both know he needs a full team for that to happen."

There was a dim glow from the sword for a moment and Dekker smiled to himself. He looked down the road before him. Soon he would be where he needed to be.

-Samurai-

Emily's birthday wasn't too far off anymore; just one more day. She should have been happy, all things considered, but she wasn't. She was frustrated.

"Are you sure he'll be back on time?" she was poking Jayden in the shoulder as he practiced the sealing symbol. Normally she wouldn't bug him while he was hard at work practicing to save the world, but he should have seen this coming when he sent her boyfriend off on a _secret mission_ the day before her birthday. She wanted Mike to be with her when she celebrated her seventeenth, but with the way the day was going now, it didn't look like that was going to happen.

Jayden groaned and cursed Mike under his breath before he put his brush down and turned to Emily. Mia had told him and the other boys about Mike needing the day to get his present for Emily set up and Jayden had granted him permission so long as he got caught up in his training the following day. But, in order to keep Emily from searching for him once she realised he was gone, Mia, Kevin, Jayden and Antonio agreed to tell Emily that Jayden and Mentor had sent Mike on a special mission. She believed them, but that didn't make their lives any easier.

"Trust me, Em, I want him home just as much as you do," Jayden said. He pointed to the TV, "Why don't you see if there's anything on. I'm sure he'll be back soon."

"Why couldn't you send Kevin or Antonio?" Emily asked him. "Better yet, why couldn't you go? You know I want Mike here!"

"He'll be home for your birthday, Emily, I promise you that much."

"You could have sent me," Emily crossed her arms and shrugged her shoulders as she walked over to her stool and took a seat. "That way I would have been out of the house while you guys planned whatever."

"Who says we have anything planned?" Jayden asked her with a smirk. Emily rolled her eyes.

"I saw the cupcakes and the bag of decorations," she said. "You guys aren't good at hiding stuff like that."

Jayden chuckled, "Just find something to do, Emily. Better yet, why don't you train?"

"Because you sent away my training partner on a mission and he's still not home."

"There's Mia," Jayden pointed to the pink Ranger as she walked into the room. "You did well when she was your partner."

"Partner in what?" Mia asked.

"Emily needs a distraction," Jayden said. He pointed outside, "I suggested she train but she won't do it without a partner."

"Actually, I was just coming here to tell Emily that Mentor wanted to speak with her," Mia smiled. She glanced at Emily, "He's waiting for you in our room."

"Why does he want to talk to me?" Emily asked. Mia smirked but shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, why don't you go find out?"

Emily stared at the pink Ranger and tried to figure out what was behind Mia's smirk. Slowly, and without taking her eyes off Mia, she got to her feet.

"You're hiding something."

"I'm hiding a lot of things," Mia smiled. "Just go find out."

"What is it?" Emily asked.

Mia placed her hands on Emily's shoulders, "You're so impatient you would rather wait for me to give you and answer than go find out from Mentor himself."

"I want to be prepared."

"Just go," Jayden laughed. He looked at Mia and gestured for her to escort Emily out of the room. It was obvious she wasn't going to leave on her own without knowing why Mentor wanted to speak with her.

Mia, following her orders from her leader, gently pushed Emily down the hallway to their bedroom where Mentor was already waiting for her. Mia walked Emily to her bed and plopped her down before going back to close the door.

Emily looked from Mia to Mentor and saw both had smiles on their faces. Excitement began to wash over her and she started bouncing in her seat.

"What?" she asked them. "Why did you want me here? Is it a present? Is it an early birthday surprise? Are we going somewhere? What are we doing?"

"Calm down, Emily," Mentor laughed when he saw she was getting a little ahead of herself. He cast a glance in Mia's direction. She had gone to sit on her own bed to watch the scene. When she saw Mentor looking at her she smirked.

"And this is before the birthday cupcakes."

Mentor turned back to Emily, "Unfortunately I cannot allow you to communicate with your family. You know the rules and you know just how much danger you could put them in."

Emily nodded her head. She didn't need to be told twice. She wasn't honestly expecting to hear from them at all, though it would have been nice. She knew that was too big of a risk and given the fact that she had broken the rules recently and called her sister, she doubted Mentor would make an exception for her birthday. But when Mentor reached into his kimono, she wondered if maybe he had a letter or a card for her from her family. It was her birthday after all, and Mentor wasn't heartless.

She knew she was mistaken though when he pulled out a small box. She looked at the box, then up at Mentor.

"You're not going to propose, are you?" she asked when he held out the box for her. "I don't think my parents will approve of that. You're like… their age and I'm… mine."

"Just open the box, Emily," Mia rolled her eyes and laughed. "I've been dying to know what's in it!"

Emily took the box from Mentor and opened it up. Almost instantly tears welled up in her eyes when she saw the gold heart necklace inside.

Concerned due to the tears, the smile fell from Mia's face and she leaned forward slightly, "Emy…"

"Your parents had it delivered shortly after you arrived," Mentor Ji explained to Emily. "I could not give it to you though."

"What is it?" Mia asked as she made her way over to Emily's bed. She took a seat beside her friend and smiled when she saw the necklace, "It's beautiful. I know how much you love necklaces…"

"It was my mom's," Emily nodded her head and smiled as she looked at Mia.

"I remember your mother wearing it," Mentor said.

"She gave it to Serena when she thought Serena was going to be the yellow Ranger," Emily explained. "Before that, dad gave it to my mother when she told him she had to be the yellow Ranger."

"So… it's like a yellow Ranger family thing?" Mia asked. "When you become the family Samurai you wear the necklace."

Emily shrugged her shoulders as she picked up the necklace with her fingers. She held it gently.

"I guess so."

"Here," Mia smiled as she took the necklace from Emily, "Let me put it on."

"I wasn't supposed to give it to you when I received it," Mentor said to Emily as Mia clipped the necklace on. "However, considering it's your birthday, enough time has passed, and it is only a necklace, I figured…"

"Thanks, Mentor," Emily smiled. When Mia was done with the necklace Emily jumped up and hugged the older man. Mentor chuckled and wrapped his arms around her.

"I do have to admit, there is another reason why I gave it to you," he said. Emily pulled away from him and looked up. Mentor smirked, "I don't get out much and didn't have anything else to give you."

"You have a lot of bonsai," Mia teased. Mentor rolled his eyes at the pink Ranger and chuckled.

"Goodnight, girls."

"Goodnight, Mentor," the girls answered as Mentor left.


	82. Dekker's Present

Dekker had never been one to follow the rules. He lived his life the way he wanted to live it. If that meant helping his opponent become stronger, he would do whatever it took.

He wanted a duel with the red Ranger. By now this was obvious. But Master Xandred was making things difficult for him. A new Nighlok was on his way. One that could possibly destroy one of the weaker Rangers and, if everything went according to Master Xandred's plan and he got the Ranger of his choice, it could weaken all the other Rangers as well.

By now Dekker understood the Rangers, probably better than they knew themselves at times. He knew that the loss of one would affect all and a weak team would make for a weak red Ranger. He didn't want to duel with a Ranger who was weak. So, to strengthen the team, Dekker was planning on replacing one Ranger with another.

It was early morning by the time he made it to an old country house. All the lights were turned off, allowing Dekker to assume the residents were all still sleeping. As he approached the house, Urumasa began to glow. Dekker stroked the sword gently.

"Patience. It is the red Ranger we want."

He climbed the side of the house and was lucky enough to reach a window on the second floor that would open. He got inside and found himself in a bathroom. He looked around and saw what appeared to be a little pharmacy on the counter. Various pills were lined up, taking up most of the surface around the sink. Dekker grabbed one of the bottles and inspected it.

"We are close," he told his sword as he placed the bottle back down and pulled out Emily's flute. He glanced at his sword, "You know what to do, Urumasa. Once we find her, it's up to you."

He stepped out of the bathroom and saw the hallway went two ways. At the end of both paths were doors. He could sense power coming from both directions and knew that he had a 50/50 chance of heading the right way on the first try. He decided to turn left and walked down the hallway until he reached a door. Carefully and without making much noise, he opened the door and smiled to himself. He had made it to the right room.

He approached the bed and smiled to himself when he saw a woman sleeping. He pulled Urumasa from its scabbard and laid it along the woman's body, resting the hilt on her chest. Once the sword was down he took Emily's flute with both hands and closed his eyes. He had never played the instrument before, but Urumasa would help him out.

A soft song filled the room and Urumasa began to glow. Dekker had never done this before. Normally he was taking lives with Urumasa, never giving life, but he knew this would work out for the best if not for the Rangers, then for him.

After a few minutes of playing Dekker saw the woman's eyes flutter open. She stirred as she heard the music.

"Dad?"

"No," Dekker shook his head and grabbed Urumasa, trading it for the flute which he dropped on the bed beside the woman. She looked at it then up at the figure standing in her room.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"That is not important," Dekker answered her. "The Rangers need your help."

"What?" she frowned and sat up in bed. She shook her head, "The Rangers? How do you know about the…"

"I have crossed paths with them many times," Dekker said. He didn't want to tell her he was their enemy for two reasons: he didn't want to scare her and right now, because he was helping them, he didn't feel like their enemy.

"Look," the woman started, "I would love to help you or the Rangers but I'm…"

"No longer ill," Dekker interrupted her. "Urumasa has done me a favour. The yellow Ranger told me the music from the instrument helped you to feel better."

"Yeah, feel better but…"

"Urumasa has granted me with immortality. Surely you can trust that it can heal you."

"What is Urumasa?"

Dekker held up the sharp blade to show her before putting it away.

"I have done what I came here to do," Dekker told her. He gestured to the flute, "I suggest you return that to your sister before she misses it."

"How did you…?" the woman looked down at the flute, recognising it immediately as the flute she had given to her sister years ago. She knew her sister wouldn't just give her flute to anyone. Hell, she knew her sister would never let anyone touch the flute without them being under her supervision. Something didn't feel right to her. "What have you done to Emily?"

"Nothing," Dekker answered. He walked to the window and quickly drew his sword, shattering the glass. "But like I said, I suggest you return that to your sister before too late. Returning it in person would be best."

He jumped out the window and took off just before the bedroom door swung open and the woman's parents rushed in to check up on their daughter. They had been awoken by the sound of the window breaking and hurried in to make sure their daughter was safe.

"Serena…"

Serena turned to her parents and then looked back down at Emily's flute. Her heart froze, her blood boiled and her stomach turned as she jumped out of bed. Her parents looked unsettled as they watched her rush around the room. Her father caught her in his arms.

"Serena, you need to rest."

"She's in danger because of me," Serena said. She grabbed a bag that had been left in the corner years ago and started stuffing clothes and Emily's flute inside.

"What…"

"I have to go," she raced past her parents, bolted down the stairs and within seconds she was out of the house. Her parents chased after her but when they got to the front porch they couldn't see her.

"Serena!" her mother called before her father pulled her mother into his arms, holding her close.

"She will be okay," he said confidently, though he was just as worried as her he had a good feeling.

"But she's…"

"I haven't seen her move that quickly in years," her father reminded her mother. "I think we both know where she's headed. You saw what she took with her."

Her mother nodded sadly, "The flute…"

"You trained them well," her father smiled. "There's nothing you can do."

Her mother looked out into the distance before nodding her head.


	83. Emily's Spirit

The day was finally here: Emily's birthday.

It was still early in the morning and all the Rangers were up decorating the common room with ribbons, streamers and confetti for Emily's birthday except the birthday girl. They knew she was aware they were going to celebrate, but they still wanted to add in a certain element of surprise. They wanted her to walk into the common room when she woke up and be completely shocked that everything was already set up and the party started.

"I got the gifts," Kevin said as he carried the bags and box and set them on the table. He looked at Mike, "I still don't see anything from you."

"Relax dude," Mike grinned as he glanced at Mia, "My gift's already set up. It's waiting for her."

"She's going to love it," Mia smiled and nodded her head.

"It's her first birthday away from home," Mike said. "She won't have her family, or her sister to share it with."

"So, will you tell us what you got her?" Kevin asked. He had been dying to know for a while now. Mike and Mia had been spending a lot of time together coming up with this idea for Emily and he was eager to know what it was.

"All I can tell you is that I worked hard on it yesterday," Mike smirked. He tapped Kevin on the back, "You'll find out, eventually."

"Are we ready?" Mia looked around the room. It was decorated for the day, the presents were out, the furniture was set up. All they were missing was the cake, which would be picked up in the afternoon, and Emily. When the boys all nodded their heads she smiled, "Sweet, I'll go…"

"I'll go wake her up," Mike interrupted her with a grin; "I want to be the first person to wish her happy birthday."

"Fine…" Mia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest as she let Mike go. Kevin chuckled and pulled her into a hug.

"Hey, this way you'll get to see the look on her face when she walks in," he tried to cheer her up. Mia smiled.

"That's just as…"

She was interrupted when the Gap Sensor went off and the entire room groaned in disappointment as Mentor Ji rushed in.

"It's a Nighlok…"

"Dude, it's before nine," Mike grumbled as he glanced to the clock, then to his friends, "Isn't there some kind of rule? No attacking the city before noon?"

"Apparently not," Jayden shook his head as he raced for the door, "This will all be here when we get back. Someone wake up Emily."

-Samurai-

With many mouths to feed, the Nighlok roamed the streets of the city eating people's spirit. To him, they all tasted different but they all served one purpose. The sorrow and pain of watching a loved one slip away slowly would cause the waters of the Sanzu River to rise, allowing the Nighloks and Master Xandred to take over the world.

But there was one spirit he was keen to eat. His orders were clear: attack the Rangers and steal the yellow Ranger's spirit. Octoroo had come up with the plan and Master Xandred approved of it. She was the one Ranger that touched all the others significantly. Their tears would definitely cause the river to rise.

As he walked the streets, terrorizing the citizens who believed he wanted them, he was suddenly shot in the back by a blast that knocked him off his feet. He rolled on the ground and when he looked up he saw all six Rangers at the ready.

"Snack time is over for you, Nighlok," Jayden growled.

As the Nighlok got to his feet, Mike and Antonio rushed him, drawing their weapons.

"Body swarm!" he called, cackling loudly with laughter as his body disassembled into small ball-like creatures and attacked the green and gold Rangers, pelting them like an unfair game of dodge ball.

When the little creatures finished with Antonio and Mike they swarmed over to the other Rangers, taking out Mia and Jayden first and then Kevin.

They came together in the form of the Nighlok just as Emily swung her sword. He blocked the attack and disarmed her before sending her to the ground.

"You'll make a fine desert!" he called as he held out his hand. A soft, yellow light emerged from her body as Emily felt all her energy leaving her. With a weak cry, she fell backwards onto the ground, almost completely lifeless.

"No!" the Rangers called as they watched her fall. Enraged, they jumped to their feet. Mia and Mike rushed over to Emily while Antonio, Jayden and Kevin stood before her, protecting her.

The Nighlok was grinning madly as he pat his hand, where the mouth that had eaten Emily's spirit was. He looked at the Rangers.

"I have to said it, her spirit was delicious!"

"Give it back!" Mike shouted. He let Mia hold Emily and he rose to his feet. He pushed past the other boys and glared through his helmet at the Nighlok.

"Why would I do that when in twenty-four short hours it will be mine forever!" the Nighlok was practically giggling with excitement as he said this.

Mike's fist clenched in rage.

"Of course," the Nighlok continued, "if you defeat me, you can have all the spirits back."

Jayden furrowed his brow. Something was up. The Nighlok was basically giving him and the others the solution to their problem. He wouldn't do that unless he had a plan – a good plan.

He glanced over his shoulder at Emily, then back at the Nighlok.

"No problem," he held out his sword and stepped forward so he was beside Mike.

"Unfortunately, you won't be able to touch me," the Nighlok teased. "I'll be heading back to the Netherworld, where you can't follow me, and I won't be coming back. See ya!"

The Nighlok began to walk off but there was no way Mike was just going to let him leave. Not while he had Emily's spirit with him. He rushed after the Nighlok, dropping his sword. As he was about to swing a punch, the Nighlok swarmed him, taking him out quickly.

Mike hit the ground and powered down. He watched as the Nighlok swarmed the rest of his friends. As the Nighlok swarmed the other Rangers, he felt one of their weapons strike him. He groaned in pain as he materialised by a cracked building support beam. With a final wave, the Nighlok stepped into the cracked beam and disappeared.

"No!" Mike shouted, jumping up to his feet and rushing to the beam. He pounded it with his fists several times as the others watched. After a few moments he gave up, dropping to his knees.

Kevin walked over to him. He placed a hand on the green Ranger's shoulder before gently pulling him up.

"We have to head home," he said. "We'll figure this out."

"Easy for you to say," Mike growled as he turned to Emily.

-Samurai-

The decorations were still set up for the party, but none of the Rangers felt like celebrating as they stepped into the Shiba home after their battle with the Nighlok. They walked in slowly, dragging their feet and letting their heads hang low.

In his arms, Mike carried Emily's limp form. It hadn't been long since the Nighlok had stolen her spirit but she was already looking lifeless. She was weak, pale and cold. If it weren't for the occasional pained moan, Mike would have assumed she was already dead.

Mentor Ji had watched the battle and already had the girls' room set up for her. He had dragged in the stools from the common room, knowing the others would want to be around Emily in her final moments. The last thing Mike wanted to do as he set her down in her bed was let her go, but she needed to rest.

"Fifty-four people, including Emily, had their spirits stolen," Mentor Ji announced, though he knew it would do no good.

"I can't believe by tomorrow Emily and all those people could be dead," Kevin said aloud to himself as he paced. He was too worked up to take a seat. He had been right there, right beside Emily when the Nighlok attacked. He had only been a few feet from her when the Nighlok took her spirit. He shook his head and sighed, "I should have done something…"

Mia touched his arm before wrapping hers around him for comfort, "We all should have done something."

"Why Emily?" Mike asked himself as he sat by her bed, holding her hand. He had seen her at her worst, but he had never seen her like this. She was completely vulnerable. She was hurting and Mike could tell that, even as she slept, she was scared. He wanted to make it stop, but he couldn't.

Antonio walked into the room, carrying the birthday presents that were meant for Emily. He handed them to their respective owners before turning to Emily.

"I just thought maybe it would help her feel more comfortable," he said, his voice barely a whisper.

Mia nodded and grabbed her present from the bag. She walked over to Emily's table and pulled out the many pictures Emily kept with her. She found two for her frames: one of Emily and her sister, and another of Emily and the other Rangers, and placed them in the frames. She set the pictures down on the night table, facing Emily.

Antonio nodded to Jayden before the red Ranger ripped the wrapping paper off their gift and he placed the stuffed dog down by Emily's head. Kevin pulled the shirt from his gift bag and laid it down beside Emily.

"Some birthday, huh?" he muttered sadly, turning to Mike.

Suddenly, in a fit of rage, Mike balled his fist and punched Emily's night table, shaking the lamp and knocking the pictures in Mia's frames over. He got to his feet and stormed out of the room.

"Mike!" Mia called as he left. She looked at the others sadly and then down at Emily.

"You go after him," Kevin nodded to his girlfriend. He gestured to Emily, "We'll keep an eye on her."

-Samurai-

"Mike!" Mia yelled as she chased Mike through the forest. She knew exactly where he was headed. She had helped him with his plan for Emily's gift and knew he had set it up not too far from the house.

She reached a clearing and found Mike. She could hardly take a moment to admire his work as he focused on destroying every piece of it. With nothing but his fists, he smashed the bench he had pulled into the clearing and ripped the rather impressively built swing from a tree he had obviously created himself from his symbol power. He stomped over to a table he had set up and flipped it over, knocking off the cake, the card and a little present for Emily.

"Mike!" she called to him again as she rushed over and grabbed his arms. He had already destroyed everything in sight but she knew him well enough to know he wouldn't stop there.

When Mike felt Mia grab him he gave in and sunk to his knees. Mia fell with him, holding him close.

"We'll figure it out," she whispered to him. "We won't let her die."

"What can we do?" Mike asked her as he stared at the dirt and tears filled up in his eyes. "The Nighlok's gone. He's not coming back and he's got Emily's spirit with him. Without it, we all know what's going to happen…"

"She'll pull through," Mia assured him. "She always does. She's a fighter. And we're not giving up."

"It's hopeless," Mike shook his head and sighed. He grabbed a handful of dirt and tossed it into the air in frustration. "All that hard work to recreate her home… just gone… she'll never know…"

As Mike muttered to himself, Mia got up and grabbed the box that had been sitting on the table for Emily. She didn't know what was inside it, but she figured it was an extra little present for her birthday. She walked back over to Mike and held the box out for him.

"We're going to save her," she promised Mike. "And… even if we can't… you should be home with her. You should be right there, by her side. If she wakes up, she'll probably be scared enough…"

Mike nodded and took the box in his hands as he got to his feet. He smiled at Mia.

"You're right," he said.

"Jayden, Kevin, Antonio and I will figure something out," Mia said, "You just be there for her, okay?"


	84. What To Do

For a few hours she had been cold, but now Emily was running a fever. It was clear she was uncomfortable and Mike was doing everything he could to make sure her sleep was peaceful. He knew that as long as the Nighlok was in the Netherworld there wasn't much else he could do for her but make her last few moments as comfortable as possible.

He pressed a wet cloth against her forehead in an attempt to cool her down. It wouldn't do much to help, but at least this way he felt like he was helping and he hoped Emily knew he was there with her.

As he pressed the cloth to her face she began to stir. Mike had seen her do this many times over the last few hours with no results but this time was different. Emily's eyes fluttered open and she looked around the room.

Mike put the cloth down on the bed, not caring that it would get the blankets wet.

"Emily!" he smiled for her before calling to the others. They all came rushing in, except for Antonio, as soon as they heard him and saw him helping Emily sit up comfortably. They all smiled at her, relieved to see she was at least awake.

"I'm sorry, guys," she whispered and Mike's heart shattered as he took her hand gently, "I let him get me…"

"No," Mike shook his head. He hated how she apologized for everything. It was sweet, but it drove him crazy. "Don't be silly. We're just glad you're okay."

Kevin offered her a glass of water and Emily took it in her hand as she looked around at her friends. They were all smiles but she could see right past it. They were worried and she hated that.

"Thanks for putting on brave faces for me," she said, "but I know I'm not okay. I feel empty."

"Don't worry," Mia forced a smile for Emily's sake, "We'll figure it out."

It was the same promise she had made to Mike earlier, but the more time passed, the less she was starting to believe it. Still, she didn't want Emily to know she was starting to worry. Emily had enough to deal with.

Jayden knelt down beside Emily's bed. He too forced a smile for her sake.

"We're not going to let you down," he promised her. He grabbed the stuffed dog he and Antonio had given her for her birthday and waved it gently in her face before he let her take it. "We'll save you. Just hold on until then."

Emily smiled and nodded her head. She was about to say something when the Rangers and Mentor Ji heard the front door of the house open and someone storm in. They all jumped up, standing guard around Emily as a blond woman rushed into the room.

"Who are you?" Mike shouted but Jayden grabbed his arm, holding him back. He recognised the woman from when he had gone and collected the letters from the Rangers' families. This was Emily's sister, Serena. He pulled Mike aside as Serena dashed over to her sister's bedside, dropping the bag she carried with her.

"Emily, no, no, no!" Serena called to her sister as Emily's eyes shut. She grabbed Emily and tried to shake her awake but it was too late. Annoyed, Serena punched the wall behind the bed and turned to the other Rangers, eyes filled with rage. "What happened?"

"Who the hell are you?" Mike asked again but he felt Jayden's grip tighten around his arm. The red Ranger looked at Serena.

"You're supposed to be sick."

"She's not," Serena pointed to her sister, "What happened to Emily?"

"It was a Nighlok," Jayden explained. "He was going around stealing spirits. He got Emily's…"

"And you just let him take it?" Serena shouted. She ran her hands through her hair and groaned loudly in frustration. Mike stepped forward. He still had no idea who Serena was but he didn't care at this point. No one accused him of letting Emily get hurt. He had tried his best to save her, and he still wasn't done trying.

"Do you think we just stood by and watched the Nighlok get the better of her?" he asked Serena. "We tried! He got away, but we'll find him."

"I'll find him," Serena corrected Mike and glanced over at her baby sister. She dropped to her knees beside Emily's bed and took her little sister's hand, "You'll be fine, Emily."

"We still have sixteen hours to come up with a plan," Mia reminded the others. "We have to find a way to draw out the Nighlok. It's the only thing we can do."

"How can we do that?" Kevin asked his girlfriend. "It's not like we can just walk into the Netherworld and demand to get Emily's spirit back."

"Even if we could go to the Nighlok," Jayden sighed, "there's not telling if we'll be able to destroy him in time. He wouldn't be alone, and if Master Xandred or the other Nighloks know he's got a Ranger spirit, they'll do everything they can to stop us."

"We can't just sit here," Mike said, "We can't just wait for Emily to recover like those other times. Sitting here, comforting her… it's not going to do anything…"

"Mike, we need to think this through," Kevin placed his hand on Mike's shoulder. "We need a plan."

"Really?" Mike asked sarcastically. "Is that really what we need to do, Kevin?"

"Mike, calm down…"

"You calm down, Mia!" Mike screamed. "If you guys want to sit here and think of a plan, go ahead! I'm actually going to try and do something."

"Mike," Jayden called as Mike stormed out. He looked at Emily, then to the team and Serena. They all nodded and followed Mike outside. As Serena left, she grabbed Emily's Samuraizer from the night table, hoping she still knew how to use it in case she needed it.

When she got outside she saw the other Rangers were standing in line staring at the man who had saved her life. She pushed through them.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Dekker smiled when he saw her with the yellow Samuraizer, "I'm glad to see you found your way."

"You know this guy?" Kevin looked at Serena, who to him was still a stranger.

"He's the reason I'm here," Serena nodded.

"I hope you made it here in time to see your sister," Dekker smirked as he pulled out Urumasa and stared at the blade.

"Your sister?" Mike frowned. He turned to Kevin, Mia and Jayden. The blue and pink Rangers looked just as surprised as he did but it appeared Jayden already knew this was Serena. This didn't surprised Mike, though. Jayden knew a lot of things that he kept secret from the Rangers. Mike stepped forward, "You're Serena."

"Not important," Serena shook her head. She glanced at Dekker, "Why do you care about my sister?"

"I promised her a birthday present," Dekker said. "I always make good on my promises."

"You're not getting near her," Serena growled.

Dekker shook her head, "It is not her I want."

"You want Jayden, we all know," Kevin nodded. Dekker smiled and turned to Jayden.

"You need a full team to support you," he said, "That is why I have found your original yellow. Now, whatever happens, you'll still be ready for our duel."

"That's not my biggest concern now, Dekker," Jayden said.

Dekker nodded, "I disagree. However, there is a way we might both be able to win. Of course, there's no guarantee you'll succeed in time to help yourselves."

"Don't listen to him, Jayden," Mia warned her red Ranger before she turned to Mike, "You shouldn't either…"

"What are you saying?" Mike asked Dekker. The warrior put Urumasa away.

"There is one way for humans like you to enter the Netherworld."

All eyes turned to Dekker as he said this. He smiled to himself when he knew he had their attention.

"Simply trade your human existence to become a Nighlok," Dekker explained. "Willingly give yourself over to them and pass through the gap."

"Why are you telling us this?" Kevin asked. This seemed fishy to him.

"I welcome you to do it," Dekker told the Rangers and Serena. He looked at Jayden, "Especially you, Red. Once done, you'll fight in ways no living human can. It'll make our impending duel even more glorious."

Once Dekker said his peace he disappeared, leaving the Rangers and Serena without any time to question his plan. What they did was up to them, he couldn't care less, but he could only hope that the red Ranger considered his offer.


	85. Saving Emily's Spirit

After their visit from Dekker the Rangers were once again back inside, around Emily's bed. Not a word had been spoken since Dekker had told them what they could do to save her. They all knew they had a big choice on their hands and now they were both relieved and frustrated.

Finally, after several long hours of total silence, Mia spoke up, "Become a Nighlok?"

"I'll do it," Mike said, without hesitation. All eyes turned to him. No one could say they were surprised, but it was still a shock to hear those words.

"Wait," Jayden shook his head. He wanted to help Emily as well, but he knew Mike wasn't thinking things through, "It's our mission to save the entire world…"

"Then you stay behind," Mike interrupted. He took Emily's hand, "She's the best of us."

Kevin furrowed his brow, "I'm not disagreeing, but what planet are you on, Mike?"

"She has the sweetest, most caring spirit," Mike looked at Kevin but spoke to the entire team. "I won't let that Nighlok keep it."

"Mike, I know how much you care about Emily… we all do," Kevin argued, "but it's our duty to protect and save the many…"

"The one I want to save right now is Emily," Mike raised his voice. "If that Nighlok had gone after anyone else, Emily would already be down there fighting for us. Don't deny it."

"We don't know what Emily would have done," Jayden told Mike.

"Mike, think about Emily," Mia said, "Do you really think she'll want to wake up to you as a Nighlok? The very thing she's trying to destroy."

"All I want is to see her happy," Mike nodded. "I don't care what happens to me."

"She will," Mia said.

Serena shook her head and stood up from her seat, "This is stupid…"

"Thank you," Kevin sighed in relief.

"I'll go," Serena turned to the door but Mia grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving.

"How is that any less stupid…?"

"I owe Emily everything," Serena explained. "If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here today."

"You were sick, we know," Mia nodded, "but…"

"But nothing," Serena shook her head, "Emily was right there when I got sick. She was just a kid but she was smart enough to know something was wrong. If she hadn't of been there…"

"That's not enough to turn yourself into a Nighlok."

"She's done everything for me," Serena said. "She's been by my side for eight years, no matter how much it hurt. She became the yellow Samurai for me and look at where that got her. This is the least I can do."

"But…"

"But this kid is right," Serena pointed to Mike, "If Emily was here she would already be down in the Sanzu River fighting for any of you. You know it's the truth but you're all too scared to admit it. You're too selfish to…"

"We have to think this through," Kevin said.

"There's nothing to think about," Mike shook his head. "The choice is clear: save Emily or watch her die. I don't know what you guys are going to do, but I know I'm not making a mistake."

"I'll go…"

"No!" Mike shouted as he turned to Serena, "You, of all people, have to stay here."

"She's my sister," Serena frowned.

Mike nodded his head, "Exactly. She's your sister and she idolises you. She loves and cares for you more than anything. If I'm going down there, you're staying here with her."

"But…"

"No buts," Mike said. "There is nothing you or anyone can say that'll change my mind. I'm going down there. I'm going to save Emily. You're staying up here. The others… they can do whatever they want, but I hope they can live with the choice they made."

"Mike…" Mia called as the green Ranger turned to the door to leave. "Mike, you can't do this!"

Mike ignored her as he walked out, dropping his Samuraizer on the ground by the girls' bedroom door. Serena stepped forward to rush after him, but Kevin grabbed her before she got too far. He looked at her sadly and shook his head before he turned to Emily.

"I wouldn't bother," he told Serena. "She's the only person he'll listen to when he gets like this."

"We have to do something," Serena pulled away from Kevin and paced around the room.

Suddenly, Antonio rushed in with nothing but smiles on his face as he grabbed Jayden's arm.

"I have a plan!" he called out excitedly before he spotted Serena. His bouncing stopped and the smile fell from his face. He pointed to her, "Who's she?"

"Emily's sister," Mia answered. Antonio frowned, scratched the top of his head and then shrugged. It wasn't important now. He was sure someone would catch him up later. He turned back to Jayden.

"I was by the lake…"

"Antonio, now really isn't the time to talk about the fish you caught," Kevin grumbled. Antonio rolled his eyes.

"Have a little faith, mi amigo," he smirked. "I was by the lake with the Clawzord. Mentor Ji asked me if I could repair it and turns out, I can. The only problem was that it's operational, but it's trapped in its miniature form, so it's completely useless."

"Antonio, we're about to lose a teammate," Mia gestured to Emily, and then pointed to the door, "Two, actually, if Mike's as stupid as well all think he is."

"Let me finish," Antonio said. "So, while I was by the lake… wait, sorry, I forgot to mention I had been going there for a few days… okay, let me…"

"Is this you trying to tell a really bad joke?" Jayden asked.

"I was trying to program the Clawzord with my Samurai morpher before the Nighlok stole Emily's spirit," Antonio had no choice but to skip the detail and get straight to the point. The others were being impatient. "And when we were fighting that Nighlok, I managed to hit him with my blade. The programming was still online from the night before which means I hit the Nighlok with the same symbol I've been using on Clawzord."

"Your point?" Kevin asked.

Antonio's shoulders slumped forward, "You guys don't get it… do you?"

"We're still trying to get used to the idea of texting Zords," Mia nodded her head.

"Look," Antonio glanced at everyone as he explained himself, "Before I met you guys I spent a lot more time fishing and I had this special lure. Every day I would mark it with a different symbol… something to help get the fish to start biting, to help practice different symbols, and to keep myself from losing my special lure."

"It is a fishing story…" Kevin sighed.

"No… it's… Whenever I would lose my lure I would always trace the same symbol in the air as I did on the lure and the lure, and whatever fish stole the lure, would be pulled towards the symbol like a magnet!"

"So… you caught the fish?" Jayden asked. Even he didn't see where Antonio was going with this story, but he was willing to listen to his friend. Antonio had proven himself many times before. He was sure the gold Ranger wasn't about to let the team, or Emily, down.

"Yeah, baby!" Antonio nodded. "And I think we can use the same Idea to draw the Nighlok out. Think of him as a really big lure."

"You're going to fish for Nighloks?" Kevin asked.

Antonio smiled, "Exactly! I just need your help. All of you. The Nighlok isn't swimming away in a lake. He's in the Sanzu River. We're going to need a lot of symbol power to pull him back. The Clawzord can do that for us. The bigger he is, the stronger the symbol and the stronger the pull. We can power him up, defeat the Nighlok, and save Emily all at once!"

"Antonio, you're brilliant!" Mia grinned.

"One problem," Kevin said. "Mike's already left. He's probably already halfway to the river as we speak. We have to stop him!"

"It'll be too late," Jayden shook his head. "We should help Antonio with the Clawzord and hope Mike comes to his senses before we lose him."

"Just one question before we head out," Serena asked and all eyes turned to her, "Are we seriously going to try fishing for my sister's life?"

"Fishing's never let me down before… well, unless the fish don't bite," Antonio pouted.

"It's the only plan we have that doesn't involve anyone else dying," Jayden told Serena. "It's worth a shot."

Serena nodded her head, "Okay… we'll try it."

"C'mon, team," Jayden lead the way out.

Serena stayed behind for a moment and turned back to her sister. She approached the bed and took a seat right beside Emily. She held her sister's hand.

"We'll figure this out," she promised Emily. "You've come a long way since the last time I saw you… I won't let you stop here."

The Ape Zord crawled up the side of the bed and sat down on the end of Emily's pillow. Serena smiled at the little creature and stroked the top of its head but it didn't react to her touch at all. It kept its little eyes on Emily.

"You don't want to come with me, huh?"

The Ape didn't respond. It had always loved Emily more, even when Serena had been training with it. It had always been a playful creature and so had Emily. The two had bonded long before Emily could hold the folding Zord in her hand and whenever she was around, Serena would always lose control of her Ape Zord completely, making training much harder.

"Promise you'll keep an eye on her for me?" Serena asked the Ape and it turned to her and nodded its little head. Serena smiled, "Don't let anything happen to her."

"Serena," Mia called from the door. She had turned back once she noticed the new yellow had not followed Jayden, "Are you coming?"

"Try and stop me."


	86. Defeating the Nighlok

Mike stood before the portal to the Netherworld. He had no idea how he was going to cross over, but that wasn't going to stop him. Nothing was going to stop him from saving Emily. She was sweet, kind and caring. She was a breath of fresh air and she was the last person who deserved to lose her spirit and die.

Normally, Emily was more than capable of looking after herself. She could hold her own in battle easily. She had even proven that, when the team needed her, she could support them all. When the Negatron attacked them with strong words, Emily was the only one who wasn't affected and fought with everything she had to keep her friends and the world safe. Now, the tables were turned. Emily was the one who couldn't fight. The team wasn't counting on her anymore. She was counting on them – all of them – to save her.

Mike promised he would protect her from anything. Usually, she didn't need it, but today was different. She was dying and she needed someone to save her. Mike was willing to do anything for her, even become a Nighlok.

"I know you can hear me!" he shouted into the portal, "I give up! You've taken everything from me! Just let Emily live and you can have me!"

"You're not the Ranger I wanted."

Mike heard a voice and turned swiftly to find Dekker standing behind him. He growled before turning back to the portal, but Dekker pulled him away.

"The red Ranger is supposed to turn himself into a Nighlok," Dekker said. "I wouldn't have told you how to save your friend if I knew he wouldn't do it."

"Just shut up, Dekker," Mike barked.

"She means a lot to you."

"She means everything to me," Mike nodded. He turned back to his foe, "If you're looking for a duel, it's not going to happen. Not with me, and not with Jayden, not if Emily dies."

"I have found you your original yellow," Dekker said. "Your team will not suffer. The red Ranger's training won't…"

"Don't you get it?" Mike shouted, "Emily is the yellow Ranger! Emily is a teammate! We don't like her because she wears yellow! She's our friend!"

"You care for her," Dekker nodded. "Blue filled me in…"

"Well, he obviously didn't do a good enough job," Mike growled. He pointed to the portal, "If you let that Nighlok take Emily, our entire team is going to suffer, Jayden included. You'll never get your perfect duel, not anytime soon. Do you really think Jayden will be able to train with a new yellow, especially if its Emily's sister? Do you think any of us will be able to look at her and not see Emily?"

"I don't get it…"

"It's great that you saved Serena, but if you really wanted to keep Jayden at full strength, you would have saved Emily," Mike said. He turned away from Dekker and stared back at the portal. "I don't care who you want to go to the Netherworld. I'm the one who's going. I'm going to save Emily if it kills me."

Dekker grabbed Mike by the shoulders and threw him to the ground. He shook his head.

"You mortals really have gotten stupid," he said. "Becoming a Nighlok isn't easy."

"You think I don't know that?"

"You're about to lose everything," Dekker told Mike.

"I'll lose everything either way," Mike jumped back to his feet and pushed his way past Dekker. He reached out to the portal, "I'm going in."

Dekker growled and rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe he was about to do this again.

-Samurai-

Antonio set the Clawzord down in the middle of the field. He had taken the Rangers to a wide, secluded area so they could power up their newest Zord and hopefully save Emily.

"Are you ready for this little buddy?" he asked the little lobster before he got up and turned to the rest of his friends, "Okay, I imagined this happening with Mike… but we can probably still pull it off. We'll just need a lot more symbol power."

"A lot more than what we already needed?" Mia frowned. "Are you sure we can do this?"

"We have to try," Jayden nodded his head as he turned to Mia. "None of us want Emily to die."

"And at least this way we can say we tried," Kevin added. "There's no other option. We have nothing to lose."

"You guys make it sound like you don't give a damn," Serena huffed. She glared at the Rangers, "Are you forgetting why we're doing this? We all want to save Emily. We were going to give these symbols everything we had right from the get-go and it's going to be enough, even without Mike."

"C'mon, guys," Antonio smiled, "For Emily!"

He texted his Kanji, "Symbol power: live!"

The other Rangers followed his lead, tracing their symbols in the air.

"Live!"

They struck the Clawzord and he grew slightly, but it wasn't enough.

"Again!" Antonio called, firing another symbol. Still, it wasn't enough. At this rate they would run out of time long before the Clawzord was fully operational.

Growling, Serena clenched Emily's Samuraizer tightly in her hands. This wouldn't do and she had nothing left to lose anyways. She had already been close to death, and it wasn't like Emily had been awake long enough to know she had been saved. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt her sister, but, if anyone deserved this second chance, it was Emily.

"One more time," she glanced at the other Rangers.

"For Emily. Give it everything you've got," Antonio said, his Kanji was already texted and waiting to be fired. The Rangers agreed to try one final time and traced their symbols in the air.

Serena looked at her Samuraizer, taking Antonio's words to heart as she traced her symbol.

All five symbols struck the Clawzord with unthinkable strength and threatened to knock the lobster Zord right over, but the folding Zord glowed brightly as he began to grow.

"We did it!" Mia smiled as she looked up at the Zord that was now towering over them. She could see a faint outline of a symbol glowing on his body and turned to Antonio, "Is that…"

He nodded and looked up to the sky as something flew through the air and the Clawzord swiped at it, knocking it to the ground. There, before the Rangers, the Nighlok that had stolen Emily's spirit laid on the ground.

As he got up, he looked around, extremely confused.

"What?" he cried, "How did I get here?"

"Did you really think we would let you get away with Emily's spirit?" Jayden asked the Nighlok. He held out his Samuraizer, "Go, go, Samurai!"

"Go, go, Samurai!" Mia and Kevin called.

"Samurai morpher! Gold power!"

The four Rangers rushed the Nighlok with their weapons, each fighting with everything they had. They knew they had to defeat him quickly before he got away and before time was up.

Serena wobbled on her feet as she dropped Emily's Samuraizer and fell to her knees. She was feeling light headed and her chest was tight. She used a lot of symbol power to save her sister. After everything Emily had done for her, it was the least she could do for Emily.

Unable to do anything else, Serena watched her sister's friends as they fought. She had seen some skilled Samurai battling before, but nothing compared to the way the Rangers were fighting now. It was obvious they all cared a great deal for Emily. While they had decided against becoming Nighloks just to save her, they had spent hours contemplating the decision. They stood by her sister and had nothing but nice things to say about her. For the first time, Serena knew Emily had found a place where she belonged.

She glanced down at what used to be her Samuraizer and shook her head. That was a lie. The Samurai power was never meant for her. It had been obvious to Serena the moment Emily was born and the Ape Zord chose her. She had tried to deny it, and hid it from her father, mother and Emily. She couldn't let her baby sister run into the face of danger to save the world. But fate always had a funny way of working itself out.

She looked up when she heard an explosion and to her surprise she saw the Clawzord standing upright over a now defeated Mega-Monster. She furrowed her brow as she watched before she heard the Rangers approaching her.

"Serena, are you okay?" Mia dropped down beside her. "You didn't morph… are you…?"

"Not feeling well," Serena nodded.

"We should have know you would have given that Clawzord everything you had," Jayden said as he held his hand out for her. "Do you think you'll be okay?"

"I don't know," Serena shrugged. She accepted Jayden's hand and slowly got to her feet, but wobbled once again. Had Jayden not been holding her, she knew she would have fallen back down.

Jayden lowered her back to the ground when he saw she was weak. He looked into her eyes and smiled.

"Maybe, you'll feel better knowing Antonio defeated the Nighlok," he said. "The spirits are going back to their bodies as we speak. Emily's going to be okay."

"I have to see her," Serena tried to push herself up but Jayden and Mia held her down. They both smiled as they looked at Kevin. He nodded his head.

"We have a better idea," he told her. "You used a lot of power, especially after not training for years. You need to rest."

"We'll make sure you see your sister," Mia promised. Carefully, she helped Serena to her feet with Jayden.

They waited for Antonio to return, wanting to return home as a group. They saw a figure approaching them in the dark, now that the sun was starting to set and at first believed it was Antonio. But the closer the figure got, the less he looked like Antonio.

Dekker walked up the Rangers with an unconscious Mike on his shoulders. He dropped the green Ranger into the dirt and glared at the others.

"Don't say I've never done anything for you," he said, looking at Jayden. "Green was moments away from becoming a Nighlok."

"You stopped him?" Kevin asked. He was a little surprised. Turning into a Nighlok to save Emily had been his plan so Kevin wondered why Dekker would stop Mike.

"He was about to give up everything," Dekker nodded, "Just to save the yellow Ranger. It was stupidly brave of him, but not what I wanted."

"You wanted Jayden to…"

"What I want is a duel," Dekker interrupted Mia. "I want a challenging opponent, red Ranger. You're not going to be a challenge if you're still grieving over the loss of a friend and your team is one Ranger short."

"Now we don't have to worry about either," Jayden smiled. "I will remember this, Dekker. But this doesn't change anything between us."

"I wouldn't want it to," Dekker nodded before turning away.

Kevin knelt over beside Mike as the green Ranger started to stir. He prodded Mike in the ribs and Mike jumped up.

"Dude."

"You are the stupidest person I have ever met," Kevin rolled his eyes as he stood back up. He offered his hand out to Mike.

"Where am I?" Mike asked before patting himself down. He looked up at Kevin and accepted his hand, "Why aren't I a Nighlok?"

"Dekker saved you," Kevin explained.

"But Emily…"

"Is fine," Kevin assured the worried boyfriend. He pointed to Antonio as the gold Ranger joined the group. "Antonio came up with a plan. We told you we didn't have to become Nighloks."

"Did you guys see that?" Antonio beamed. "That Nighlok didn't stand a chance! That'll teach Master Xandred to mess with one of us."

"Can we go home?" Serena asked. "I want to see my sister."


	87. Happy Birthday, Emily!

The Rangers couldn't get home fast enough after defeating the Nighlok (and making one little stop for Emily's final birthday gift). They knew the spirits had returned to their rightful bodies, but they weren't going to truly believe it until they saw Emily was fine with their own eyes.

They burst through the door but the house was completely silent. Kevin grabbed Serena's hand and pulled her in the opposite direction of Emily's room.

"We'll give you some time to rest," he told her, "You can take my bed."

Serena nodded her head. On the way home the other Rangers had filled her in on their plan for Emily and she agreed to go along with it. She was exhausted enough as it was. She didn't want to walk back into her sister's life looking just as bad, if not worse, then when Emily left. Their plan allowed her to get a little bit of rest before spending time with her sister.

Jayden handed Serena a pen before she left, "Kevin will give you the card. Quickly sign it and we'll give it to Emily."

While Kevin led Serena to his bedroom, the other Rangers rushed to Emily and Mia's room. Smiles lit up their faces when they saw Emily sitting up in bed. She had discovered the presents they left for her and she had been looking at them when the others burst in.

"Emily!" Mike cried. He raced over to her bed and caught her as she leapt up into his arms. He hugged her tight, afraid he would lose her again if he let go.

"Mike…" he felt her poking his shoulder after a few moments, "I kind of need to breathe…"

"Sorry," Mike loosened up and let her sit back down on the bed. He took a seat beside her while Jayden, Mia and Antonio welcomed her back, looking as relieved as ever.

"How are you feeling?" Jayden asked as Mike took Emily back in his arms.

"A little tired," Emily admitted, "But Mentor said that was normal. I should be fine again in a few hours."

"We're just glad to see you're okay," Antonio smiled. "You had us all really scared."

"I know, I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," Mike interrupted her with a kiss. "If anyone should apologize its Master X and that Nighlok."

"They aren't going to try this stunt again," Antonio laughed.

Kevin walked into the room with a container of cupcakes in his hand and an envelope in the other. He set the cupcakes down on the bed before Emily with a smile.

"There's still a few hours left before the end of your birthday," he told her. "Are you up to a little celebrating?"

Emily nodded her head as she reached in for a cupcake. As she took a bit, Kevin grabbed the yellow shirt that was still laid out beside her on her bed. He held it up for her to see.

"Happy birthday," he said. Emily smiled brightly as she took the shirt. Mike helped her get it on without getting the frosting from her cupcake all over it. She looked down at her chest.

"Warning: deadlier than appears?" she asked, looking up at Kevin. She grinned, "I like it."

"I thought you would," Kevin laughed.

Jayden pointed to the stuffed dog on her bed, "The puppy's from Antonio and I…"

"I would just like to point out, I wanted to get you a real dog," Antonio smirked. He flicked his thumb in Jayden's direction, "He said no."

"Stuffed is fine," Emily smiled. She hugged the dog to her chest, "It'll keep Monkey company. Thanks."

"The picture frames are from me," Mia pointed to Emily's night table. Emily grinned at the pictures in the frames. They were just the right ones. She looked at Mia with a smile.

"Thank you."

All eyes turned to Mike.

"Finally, we'll figure out what he got her," Kevin said, rubbing his hands together. He had been waiting forever for this.

Mike looked at Mia before lowering his head, "I uh… I kind of don't have anything for you, Em."

"That's okay, Mike," Emily said, turning around in his arms so she was sitting across from him, "I don't mind, really, I…"

"Wait," Kevin frowned. "You leave for an entire day to plan her gift, and you don't have anything…"

"It was ruined," Mike sighed. He looked at Emily, "I'm sorry."

"You brought home that box," Mia reminded Mike. She knew his big present for Emily had been ruined. He wanted to take her out for the afternoon to a quiet spot. He wanted her to enjoy the comforts of home without putting her family in danger. He wanted to recreate her birthdays as a child, when it was just her and someone she loved. But he had broken the tree-swing and the food was ruined. Mike couldn't whisk her away for her perfect day anymore. But, she had saved the box, and she had given it to him before they came back home. Surely there was something inside there for Emily.

Mike nodded, "In my room on my nightstand… I totally forgot about that."

Mia smiled and went to get the gift. Emily looked at Mike.

"What were you going to get me?" she asked. She didn't want to be pushy, she was just curious. Mike shrugged his shoulders.

"Just… I don't really know how to describe it…" he said. "I was just… I mean… I know how much you love home and I know we can't go there so… I was going to bring it here to you… kind of and…"

Mike stopped when Emily threw her arms around him and kissed him. She then rested her head on his shoulder as she hugged him.

"It sounded perfect."

Mike nodded his head and held her, "I'm sorry I ruined it."

"You didn't," he felt Emily shaking her head, "It's the thought that counts. I love it."

"Told you," Antonio laughed to Mike as Mia walked back into the room. She handed the box to Emily. The yellow Ranger took it and looked at Mike. When he nodded she opened it.

"It was a last minute thought," Mike smiled when Emily gasped. She pulled out a snow globe from the box. Inside the crystal glass was a little farm house with a tree and when she shook the globe, rather than snow, little sparkles of glitter filled the ball, lighting up the scene like little stars.

"Mike…" Emily breathed. He gently took it from her hands and held it upside down. He twisted the key at the bottom before holding the globe up and letting it play.

"I remembered hearing you play this song once on your flute," Mike said. "You said Serena played it for you."

"I… but it's… and…" tears filled Emily's eyes as she looked up from the globe at Mike. Words could not describe how much she loved her present. She held it tightly in her hand as she pulled him in for a kiss.

"Looking away," Jayden muttered as he and the other three turned to give Mike and Emily a little bit of privacy. Kevin nudged Mia.

"Please tell me we can give her her final gift now."

Mia nodded, "Serena seemed better when I was in your room," she said. "I'll go check if she's okay to celebrate."

Antonio looked over his shoulder as Mia left the room. He smiled as he watched Emily shake her snow globe. He could tell she loved all the presents she received from her friends. Her eyes had lit up every time a gift was pointed out to her and her thanks had been nothing but genuine. He could have just assumed that she was just happy to be alive, but he knew it was more than that. This was just the kind of person Emily was: sweet, innocent and joyful. It was no wonder the Nighlok had taken her spirit.

He took the card from Kevin and held it out for Emily, "We all got you one last thing," he told her.

Emily looked at the card before she took it and opened the envelop. She looked at the front of the card with a smile.

_Happy birthday to a wonderful sister_, the card read. Emily started to tear up once again and Mike wrapped his arms around her.

"We know Mentor doesn't like it when we communicate with our friends and families," he whispered to her. "But, sometimes things just happen that you can't control."

Kevin looked at the door when he heard a little bit of shuffling. He smiled when he saw Serena and Mia had made it back just in time. He gave them a wink and turned back to Emily.

"Open the card," he instructed. Emily wiped her tears and did as she was told. She furrowed her brows when she saw the card simply said: _look up_.

"What?" looking up, her question was answered. There, at the foot of the bed, her sister stood smiling.

Mike unwrapped his arms from around Emily as she jumped up and launched herself into her sister's arms, nearly knocking her to the ground. Jayden and Kevin were quick to catch the two of them and kept them steady as they were reunited.

"Happy birthday, Emy," Serena whispered to her sister.


	88. The Older Sister

"Whoa…" Mike frowned as Mia entered the kitchen that morning looking completely worn out. He knew sleeping on any of the couches in the Shiba house wasn't a pleasant experience, but the night had not been kind to Mia at all. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Shut up, Michael," Mia muttered as she took a seat at the table and dropped her head onto the surface. Kevin walked over and placed a plate of food before her.

"You know, Serena and Emily were fine with you keeping your bed," he reminded her. "You brought this on yourself."

"You know," Mia grabbed the fork and pointed it at Kevin, "this is the part where you slap Mike and tell me I still look beautiful and it was nice of me to give Emily and Serena a night to themselves."

"Sorry… but…" Kevin shook his head, "can I maybe be a good boyfriend another time. You look dead."

"And that's saying a lot considering we almost lost Emily yesterday," Mike added with a smirk. "You look worse than she did."

Mia jabbed at the food on the plate, "Yeah, keep going. Insult me while I'm still tired. I'm pretty sure we can find two new Rangers before the end of today."

"Sorry, Mia," Kevin walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her before he kissed the top of her head, "When you're done here you can take a nap in my bed. Emily and Serena still aren't up and no one has the heart to interrupt them."

"Thanks, Kevin, I might take you up on that offer," Mia said before picking at the food on her plate. She wasn't all that hungry this morning. If anything, she was just tired. "Save this for me for later. I'm going to take that nap now before the house gets too active. Maybe I can get a little sleep before training starts."

"Suit yourself," Kevin chuckled and kissed her as she left.

Mia and Jayden crossed paths as she walked out of the kitchen and he walked in. He gave her a strange look as she passed by but didn't say anything until she was out of the room. He was about to open his mouth when Kevin held a hand up.

"All you need to know is the couches are not a suitable replacement for a bed," he said. "Mia's learned that the hard way."

"I thought Serena and Emily were okay with Mia sleeping in her own bed," Jayden frowned.

"They were," Mike nodded, "but Mia wanted to give them some privacy. They haven't seen each other in months, and we can all assume it's been a while since they've been able to act like regular sisters."

"Emily sure was happy when she saw Serena," Antonio commented as he appeared from the other doorway. He started picking at the food on one of the breakfast plates still on the counter, "But now we have a problem."

"What do you mean?" Mike frowned.

Jayden sighed. He had realised this the night before, after he and the others had left Serena and Emily.

"We have two yellow Rangers and only one Samuraizer."

"So, can't Antonio like… make another one or something?" Mike asked, turning to Antonio, "I mean, you made one out of a broken phone. You can do it again, right?"

"The house is about to get very crowded," Kevin muttered. He looked at Mike, "I don't think it's a matter of making another Samuraizer, Mike."

"Kevin's right," Jayden nodded, "Antonio was a good addition to the team, but we already have a yellow, we don't need a second one."

"I guess," Mike shrugged.

"The problem is, which yellow is our yellow," Antonio asked through a mouthful of eggs. "I mean, we all want Emily to stay, but I don't think there's a person in his house who doesn't want to keep her safe, especially after yesterday."

"Letting her go home would be the safest thing for her," Kevin sighed. "She would be out of Master Xandred's and Dekker's way, and she would still have her mother protecting her."

"But, at the same time, no one is a better fit for our team than Emily," Jayden pointed out. "And it was hard enough adjusting ourselves to Antonio. I would rather not go through that process again with Serena. It wouldn't be fair on any of us, especially Serena."

"So… what do we do?" Kevin asked his leader. "Who stays… who goes?"

"Do we have to figure that out today?" Mike looked at the other boys in the room. "Can't we put it off… at least until tomorrow?"

"We'll have to think about what's best for the team," Jayden said. "We might have to put personal feelings aside. We'll give them both another day at least, but the choice needs to be made soon. One extra person in the house makes us all more vulnerable."

Suddenly, the two sisters burst into the room with Serena chasing Emily. The boys watched with smiles as Emily ducked behind Mike and used him as a shield to protect herself from her older sister. They were all happy to see both girls alive and healthy.

"Emily, come here," Serena demanded in a serious yet playful tone. Emily shook her head.

"I would rather not."

"Emy…"

"Not changing my mind."

"What did she do?" Kevin asked with a chuckle as he looked at Serena. The older sister sighed.

"The only good part about being sick was finally getting my own room and not waking up to that every morning," Serena said. "I always hated mornings…"

"She woke you up, didn't she?" Jayden laughed. Serena nodded her head.

"She jumped onto my bed and wouldn't stop bouncing and poking me until I woke up," she said. She glared at Emily, "You couldn't let me sleep in, could you?"

"It's been ages since I've done that," Emily shrugged her shoulders and giggled. "I wanted to relive my childhood. You know, the pre-ill days."

"I feel it's my responsibility to warn you guys about letting this one get too much sleep, sugar or caffeine," Serena looked at the boys. "And steer her clear from anything else that'll give her more energy than she already has."

"We've learn that lesson," Jayden assured her. "She's the reason why we keep the coffee beans on the very top shelf."

"So, how late did you and Serena stay up?" Mike asked his girlfriend. He pulled Emily down onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her as she started eating her breakfast. "I'm sure you had a lot to talk about."

"I don't know," Emily shrugged. She looked at her sister, "We kinda just fell asleep at one point."

"I can't even remember what we were talking about," Serena said, "All I know is one minute we were talking, the next there's a hundred pounds of hyper bouncing in my bed."

"I don't think we got much sleep, though," Emily said. "I remember talking for hours."

"Hopefully you got enough sleep," Jayden smiled. He gestured outside, "We didn't hold training yesterday so we should get started on a few exercises. Serena, you're welcome to join us."

"Where's Mia?" Emily asked, noticing that the pink Ranger wasn't in the kitchen.

Kevin chuckled, "For all our sakes, Mia's going to pass on this session."

Mike and Jayden both agreed after having seen the state she was in from her less-than-restful night on the couch.

Emily got up and put her plate away before heading to her room, "I guess I'll go get changed then. I'll meet you guys outside. Serena…"

"I'll be there in a minute," Serena promised her sister as Emily left. She turned to the boys, "So, who trains with who?"

"Well, usually…"

"I want to train with Mike," Serena didn't let Jayden answer as she turned to Mike. The green Ranger scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"Uh… Emily's my training partner so…"

"So, today it's me," Serena insisted. "Emily can train with Mia's partner; seeing as she won't be with us anyways."

"Oh… okay…" Mike turned to Jayden and gave his leader a look that begged for help but Jayden shook his head and laughed.

"Sorry, I think this might be entertaining," he looked at Kevin and Antonio and saw they were both nodding their heads in agreement.

"Emily's told me _a lot_ about you," Serena said to Mike, stressing the words 'a lot' so Mike would know what she meant. "I don't think she left out a single detail…"

"Oh boy…" Mike groaned and Kevin snickered. He was already entertained. He knew he had been protective of Emily when he first found out Mike had feelings for the yellow Ranger. He couldn't imagine how Serena felt knowing there was already a relationship between her baby sister and the green Ranger.

"Oh boy is right," Serena nodded. "Now, I will keep in mind that you were basically willing to go to hell and back for my sister but that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you."

"You had to fall in love with the only Ranger on the team with an older sibling," Kevin chuckled as he gave his friend a pat on the shoulder. Mike turned and glared at Kevin.

"Hey, it was either Emily or Mia. Which would you prefer?"

"Shutting up," Kevin nodded.

Serena got up from the table, "I'll meet you outside in five minutes."

"Yes ma'am," Mike saluted, hoping to keep on Serena's good side by respecting her wishes.

Serena glared at Mike, "Don't call me ma'am."


	89. Decisions, Decisions

"Ow…" Mike hissed in pain as he limped to the side of the house and let himself fall on the ground. He knew he was in for a lot of pain when Serena insisted she train with him but he had no idea his entire body would be aching before the end of the warm-up. Still, he had pressed on through the rest of the training, refusing to show his girlfriend's older sister that he was the kind of guy who would give up easily.

"Remember that," Serena chuckled as she walked over. She knelt down beside him and offered him a water bottle.

"You just won because I refuse to hit sick women," Mike sat up and took a sip of his water. Serena shook her head and laughed.

"I'm not sick anymore."

"How did you learn to fight like that?" Kevin asked as he and Emily joined the two by the side of the house as their training came to an end. Serena cast a quick glance over at her sister before looking back at Kevin.

"My mother never went easy on me," she said. "I got some intense crash-course training even when mom was pregnant with Emily. Believe me; you really want to improve when you get your ass kicked by a woman who struggles to get off the couch when there's a knock at the door."

"Well, however you trained, it worked," Kevin nodded, "You're almost as good as Jayden. Actually, you might be just as good."

"Mom started my training even before she was sent here to fight Master Xandred," Serena explained. "She couldn't bear the thought of losing me."

"I don't see that happening anytime soon," Mike commented as he rubbed his ribs, "You're pretty dangerous."

"I told you guys she was good," Emily smiled as she helped pull Mike up to his feet. "I'll get you the bag of peas… you're going to need it."

As Emily bounced off, Serena watched with a smile. She looked at the boys.

"Good old bag of peas," she said and the boys nodded. "I take it you guys already know…"

"We label our peas," Mike chuckled. "One bag is for eating and there's always one in the freezer for bruises."

"It's being used less and less, though," Jayden pointed out. "It used to be the first thing any of us would see when we opened the freezer. Now it's shoved all the way in the back."

"I never thought I would see the day," Serena smiled. She placed her training sword against the wall and made her way inside, leaving the boys on their own.

Kevin turned to Jayden, "Okay, that was impressive."

"Serena's really good," Antonio nodded his head. He quickly turned to Mike, "Uh… not that Emily's not good but…"

"Emily's amazing," Mike said.

"I think what Antonio's trying to say is now the decision is even harder," Kevin explained to Mike. "We all love Emily. We know she's good… but Serena's spent the last eight years in bed and she still managed to kick your butt and you weren't able touch her once."

"I don't hit sick women," Mike frowned.

"Regardless," Jayden shook his head, "We're really going to have to think this through. I mean, Serena was supposed to be the yellow Ranger. She's entitled to the Samuraizer."

"And she's one of the best Samurai I've seen," Kevin said. "No offense to anyone here, but you guys have to agree with me on this."

"On what?" Mia asked as she joined the boys after her nap. She glanced over at Mike and chuckled when she saw all the bruises, "Well, well, looks like the tables have turned…"

"Don't you dare start," Mike growled. "This is what happens when you agree to spar with your girlfriend's older sister."

"I take it Serena's good, then," Mia asked the others. They all nodded their heads. "Maybe she can help us if we ever run into trouble again."

"Actually," Kevin corrected his girlfriend, "It might be a little more complicated than that."

"What do you mean?" Mia frowned.

"They're thinking of replacing Emily with Serena," Mike said to the pink Ranger. He understood why this was an issue and he knew it was something that needed to be considered for the sake of the team, but he didn't want to see Emily leave. He hoped maybe Mia could talk them out of making this decision, at least for a few more days.

"Wait… what?"

"It's just like Jayden said," Kevin told his girlfriend, "We have two yellow Rangers, but only one Samuraizer. Emily's our teammate, but we all know Serena was originally supposed to be the yellow Ranger."

"We can't just ignore that," Jayden sighed. "As a team, we're doing fine now, but master Xandred will get stronger. In the end, we're going to need as much power as we can to seal him away forever. We'll need those who were supposed to be Rangers."

"But, you're the man," Mike pointed out. "You're the guy who's going to seal away Master X. Why does it matter who's standing next to you when it happens? Why can't it be Emily?"

"I'm not saying it can't be," Jayden shook his head as he tried to find a way to explain this to Mike; "I'm just saying we need a strong team at the end if we want to win. We need to look at all angles and which of the two will help us all be the best we can be."

"We break our necks yesterday trying to save Emily and we all realise we need her and today that theory is flushed down the toilet because Serena turned Mike from the green Ranger to black and blue?" Mia asked. She examined the bruises forming on Mike's body but she still couldn't see what the others saw, "I mean, she's good, and she'll probably only get better… but is this really our choice to make? What if Serena doesn't want to be a Ranger anymore?"

"We're not saying we want Serena over Emily," Jayden said. "We're just saying… we have a lot to think about."

"I think you know where I stand," Mike stood up straight, "Emily's the best thing that's happened to this team. Serena's amazing, but we're already got strong fighters. I vote Emily stays."

"Same here," Mia nodded.

"We won't make a final decision until tomorrow when we talk with the girls," Jayden said. He put down his sword and walked into the house.

Kevin gave Mia a look and shrugged. Her understood her position and truth be told he wanted Emily to stay too. But he knew this wasn't a decision that could be made based on personal feelings and relationships. They needed to think about the long run, and who would be better suited to stand against Master Xandred in the end. They also needed to consider who was the true yellow Samurai. Emily always referred to herself as her sister's replacement, but Kevin, as well as the other Rangers, couldn't imagine anyone else wearing the yellow spandex.

"It'll work out," he promised her.

Antonio looked at Mike and Mia, "For what it's worth, I don't think Jayden's voting against Emily," he told them, "I think he's still undecided. But you have to admit, Serena's pretty sweet. I mean, she did…"

"Kick my ass," Mike nodded, "I know."

Emily walked back outside with the bag of peas she had to dig out of the freezer for Mike. She held it out for him to take and hold over the part of his body that hurt most after the beating he received from her sister. Mike smiled as he took the peas and placed them on his shoulder before pulling her in and wrapping his arms around her. He gave her a kiss before looking at Antonio and Kevin. The gold and blue Rangers knew what he was trying to say. He wasn't about to let her go.


	90. The Real Yellow

For the rest of the day Jayden had a sick feeling in his stomach. He had a lot to think about, and whatever he did, he was certain to hurt someone.

As far as he knew, Serena was supposed to have the yellow Samuraizer. She was first born, she had trained for it and the only thing that kept her from taking up her responsibility was an illness that no longer plagued her. It would be unfair to cut her from her team because everyone already liked Emily.

But, if he did give Serena her chance, he would basically be telling Emily she wasn't as good as her older sister. Of course, Serena was a better swordsman, that much was clear, but there were other areas that were just as important that Emily had already mastered. She was a good teammate, she was determined, she was caring and she was sweet. The team needed that just as much as they needed a good fighter and a good swordsman.

He couldn't bear to look at either sister for the rest of the day, and avoided them as much as possible. He had asked Antonio to keep an eye on both the girls, and the rest of the team, to see if maybe he could pick up on any kind of clue that would indicate who was supposed to be the yellow Ranger but Antonio came up empty handed. There wasn't an easy way out. Jayden and the rest of the team were going to have to make a tough decision. Hopefully they could make the right one.

"I'm going to bed," Jayden announced as he walked by the Rangers playing a board game in the common room. They looked up at him and nodded their heads, letting him leave. They had spent the better part of the day hanging out together with Serena and getting to know Emily's older sister for themselves. Jayden was happy they were all getting along, but that was something else that made his decision harder. At least if Serena had a hard time fitting in, it would be a factor to consider. Her inability to get along with the team could send them back, like it did when Kevin and Antonio couldn't see eye-to-eye.

As Jayden left, Serena pushed herself up from her stool.

"Emily, play for me when it's my turn," she told her sister. "I want to have a word with him."

"Uh, okay," Emily said, letting her sister leave.

Serena followed Jayden down the hallway and caught him just before he reached him room. She grabbed his arm and spun him around.

"Can we talk?"

Jayden shrugged his shoulders, "I don't see why not."

He opened his bedroom door, inviting Serena inside. She stepped in and looked around, unsure of where to sit. Jayden grabbed the seat from his desk and brought it over to the bed before he sat down and pointed to his bed.

"This chair is a little hard," he told her. "I guess you would prefer the bed."

"Thanks."

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Jayden asked, feeling a lump in his throat. He could only hope Serena hadn't figured out what he was up to.

Sadly, she had, "You're not kicking Emily off the team, are you?"

"I…" Jayden furrowed his brows. She had figured him out, but she was one step ahead on him, "How did you…?"

"You've been avoiding her all day," Serena pointed out. Jayden sighed. He wanted to tell her he was avoiding her too, but he knew that probably wasn't wise. He shrugged his shoulders.

"You've put us in a bit of an awkward situation," Jayden admitted. "We love Emily, don't get us wrong, but she wasn't the person we were expecting to show up. The yellow Samurai was supposed to be you, not her."

Serena lowered her head, "There's something you should…"

"I'm just trying to figure out what's best for the team," Jayden said. "I want to make the right decision. I want to stop Master Xandred for good, but I also want everyone to go home safe and sound. I need the best and strongest team possible."

"I get that, Jayden, but…"

"Serena, I don't think I have to remind you how much danger Emily is in by staying here," Jayden interrupted her again. "That Nighlok yesterday almost killed her, and they're just going to get stronger. I know you don't want to see her get hurt."

"Of course not…"

"I'm going to sleep on this, Serena. "I haven't made up my mind yet, but I promise you I'll think about it. I'll do what's best for Emily, you, and the team."

"Okay…"

Jayden gestured to the door, "It's getting late. Do you mind?"

Serena sighed as she nodded her head and walked out, leaving Jayden to sleep. He had brought up some good points in their talk (or their one-sided conversation given how he hadn't really let her speak). Emily was in danger. She had known that for years now. She couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to her little sister. It had been hard enough watching Emily being bullied by the kids in her school. She couldn't imagine watching her baby sister being beaten by a nasty Nighlok who would do a lot worse than kick sand in Emily's face or stuff her in her locker.

That was why, even after the Ape chose Emily, Serena refused to admit she wasn't the chosen Samurai. She convinced her mother the Ape and Emily were only playing together and there was nothing to it, meanwhile, Serena would always be working hard late at night to train with the Ape Zord, trying to bond with it so her parents, especially her mother would never find out it preferred Emily. It was also the reason she was such a skilled Samurai. Serena hoped that her skills alone would be enough for her mother to choose her to be the yellow Ranger over Emily, no matter how much Emily and the Ape _"played_" together.

Finally, it was the reason Serena let her disease affect her as much as it did. She had started feeling ill for a little under a year before Emily found her out, but she refused to admit to herself that she wasn't feeling well until it was too late. In hindsight, it probably would have been better to tackle her illness when it was still in the early stages, but the thought of Emily taking her place scared her too much. She let her sickness get to the point where there was no other choice but to let Emily take what was truly hers.

Serena walked back into the common room and took her seat beside her sister. Emily handed her the dice with a smile on her face.

"Perfect timing," she said. "It's your turn."

"Thanks, Emy," Serena breathed, swallowing the lump in her throat that had formed when she saw the Samuraizer in Emily's pocket.


	91. Best for the Team

The Rangers and Serena sat on their stools around the table for a meeting that had been called by Jayden. Everyone knew what this meeting was about; even Emily seemed to have an idea. She knew it was only a matter of time before someone brought up the issue regarding her and her sister both being trained to be the yellow Ranger.

Jayden started the meeting by standing up and placing his Samuraizer on the table. He had no idea how else he was going to do this. He hoped something would come of this idea.

"Guys?" he said and the Rangers followed, placing their Samuraizers on the table with Jayden's.

"Are we playing a game?" Mike asked. "You know, all at once we reach for a Samuraizer and whoever doesn't have one loses?"

Jayden shook his head before realising the idea behind Mike's games weren't that far off from what he was trying to do. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I want everyone to take the Samuraizer that belongs to them," was all he said. He watched as Kevin, Mia, Mike and Antonio took their Samuraizers back, leaving only the red and yellow ones on the table.

Jayden looked at the yellow Samuraizer, then up at Emily and Serena. He furrowed his brow.

"Um… girls…"

He expected them to both reach for the Samuraizer, or at least one of them to grab it. He didn't think they would both leave it on the table.

Emily didn't want to pick up her Samuraizer. Her whole life she had been told Serena would be the yellow Ranger or that it was Serena's responsibility and she was just replacing her sick sister. While Serena was ill, Emily considered the Samuraizer to be hers by default, but now that Serena was healthy again she was back to her initial belief. The Samuraizer belonged to Serena, not her.

Serena knew the truth. Jayden had asked everyone to pick up the Samuraizer that belonged to them. It didn't belong to her. It never did, but no one knew that except her.

"Someone go for it," Antonio frowned.

Emily turned to her sister, "Serena…?"

"What?" Serena looked at Emily. The younger girl gestured to the Samuraizer.

"Isn't it…?"

"I gave it to you," Serena shrugged.

"But you were sick."

"I thought the _no takesy-backsy_ rule was implied."

"Serena," Emily frowned, "I'm not eight."

"So?"

"So, I know when something doesn't belong to me," Emily reached for the Samuraizer and held it out for Serena to take. "I get it. This is yours. You trained your entire life. You're the yellow Ranger."

"You've been wearing the spandex…"

"Do either of you want to be the yellow Ranger?" Kevin asked. "I know training sucks sometimes but it's not like it's a boring job."

"I think it's clear we have a problem," Jayden said. "Now that Serena's back we have two yellow Rangers, but there's only enough room on the team for one."

"You know where I stand, Jay," Mike looked at Jayden.

"I know," Jayden nodded his head. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. This decision shouldn't be taken lightly, but Jayden hadn't made up his mind. When he opened his eyes, the first yellow Ranger he saw was Serena.

"We need a strong team," he started, "Master Xandred and the Nighloks are getting more and more powerful and we need to keep up if we want to stay alive. If we have any chance of stopping them for good, we have to stay one step ahead of the game. That's why… Serena is the real yellow Ranger."

Emily had seen this coming but that didn't make it hurt any less. She held back her tears as she once again held out her Samuraizer for Serena.

"I get it," she whispered to her sister. "It's yours."

"Jayden," Mike jumped up from his seat. Jayden turned to the green Ranger.

"I thought long and hard about this," that was the truth, "and the choice wasn't easy," that was a lie. He chose Serena because she had been the first sister he saw when he opened his eyes, "but this is Serena's responsibility. It wouldn't be fair to her or us to keep her from fulfilling it. I don't like sending Emily home, but if you put your personal feelings aside, you'll understand why we have to."

"I'll go pack," Emily didn't look at anyone else as she rushed out of the room. She couldn't hold back her tears any longer and didn't want to cry in front of the others.

"That's bullshit and you know it," Mike growled to Jayden. He turned to Serena for a quick moment, "Sorry Serena, but I don't think you're what we need."

Serena nodded her head and looked at the Samuraizer in her hands. On one hand she was happy. Emily wouldn't be in danger anymore. She could be safe. On the other hand, she knew this wasn't right.

"Look, Mike, we know you…"

"This isn't about me liking Emily," Mike interrupted. "I'm not biased. If anything I want her safe! After almost losing her the other day I don't want her going anywhere near a Nighlok or even a Mooger ever again. But we need her!"

"Mike's right," Mia nodded her head. She had agreed with Mike from the start. "We need Emily. We're not a team without her."

"I don't disagree," Kevin said, "But Serena's good, great, even."

"So?" Mike asked. "Jayden's good. You're good. Mia's good. We have enough good Samurai. We don't have enough Emily. And I've never been good at math, but I'm pretty sure you don't take off what you already don't have enough of."

"Mike has a point," Antonio said. "I mean, even the Nighlok knew her spirit was special. He could have gone after any of us, but for some reason or another he chose Emily. We all know she's one of a kind."

"It doesn't matter if you guys agree with this decision or not," Jayden said, putting his foot down, "the yellow Samurai powers don't belong to any of you. The only person here who has a say is Serena."

Jayden turned to Serena.

The older sister had been listening to the Rangers as they argued. She knew they all cared for Emily. She had seen it when Emily's spirit had been taken. But the way Mike, Mia and Antonio were still fighting for her, and the points they brought up, made her realise even more that the yellow Samuraizer didn't belong to her, and Jayden was making a huge mistake. One that could cost him in the end. He needed a strong team, but the powers had chosen Emily over Serena for a reason, and she wasn't one to question it.

"Jayden's right," she said and all eyes turned to her. Mike, Mia and Antonio seemed surprised, while Kevin and Jayden were intrigued by what she had to say. Serena shook her head and placed the Samuraizer on the table, "The yellow samurai powers don't belong to any of us – at least, no one in this room deserves them."

"What?" Kevin frowned, "But you're…"

"I'm first born," Serena shrugged, "that's it. That doesn't mean the powers belong to me. Sure, the Samuraizer may work for me, but not without a lot of effort. And I don't get along with the Ape… well, not like Emily does. It doesn't pay attention to me if Emily's in the room. It never has. I was just good at keeping it a secret. It's like telling your dog to stay when you know he won't come."

"Wait… so…?"

"Emily was no accident," Serena said, "Well, I mean… she was… but she wasn't. She's the Ranger you guys need, not me. It wouldn't be right to take this from her."

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Jayden asked.

"I tried," Serena told him, "When we had that talk, yesterday… I wanted to tell you, but you kept interrupting me and then you reminded me how dangerous this was. You guys don't want to see Emily get hurt and you've only known her for a few months. I remember holding her after she was born."

Serena stood up, "You guys care for her, I'm glad to see that. She fits in with you guys. I've never seen her so happy and confident. She obviously means a lot to you, and you mean a lot to her. I think… it's best if she stays."

"Yes!" Mike smiled and high-fived Antonio.

"Just, promise me one thing," Serena looked at the team and they turned to her, listening carefully, "You guys keep her safe."

"Of course," Jayden nodded.

"She'll protect you," Serena said, "You guys protect her."

"We wouldn't have it any other way," Mike smiled.

"Good," Serena said. "I'll go tell her… everything."


	92. Emily Stays

Serena stepped into her sister's room, a little surprised to see nothing was packed, though there were a few suitcases on the floor and the bed waiting to be filled with Emily's things. She bit her lip and approached the bed, where Emily was sitting. In her hands she held the snow globe Mike had given her for her birthday. She was watching the little flakes of glitter fall over the tree and farmhouse, trying to hold back the tears.

"I take it you don't want to leave," Serena asked, snapping Emily from her thoughts. The younger girl jumped slightly at the sound of her sister's voice and looked up. She shook her head. She couldn't lie to Serena.

"No."

"I don't get what all the fuss is about," Serena shrugged her shoulders as she took at seat on the end of the bed, "I mean, the suit's tight and when you power down you probably have the worst case of helmet hair…"

"That's not it," Emily sighed. Serena nodded. She placed her hand on her sister's knee and patted it gently.

"You'll miss your friends," she said as more of a statement then a question. She could tell it was what was bothering Emily. Her little sister nodded her head.

"Yeah."

"I guess it can't be easy," Serena said. "I mean, you've been away from home for months without any way of speaking with me or mom or dad… except that one call…"

"I got in trouble for that," Emily chuckled.

Serena smiled, "I guess, after all that, it doesn't matter whether you like your teammates or not. They're part of you."

Emily turned to her night table, where the picture of her and the other Rangers was sitting in the picture frame Mia bought her for her birthday. She smiled and nodded her head.

"They're like my second family."

"You'll probably miss them a lot."

"I already do."

"And I hope you'll miss me," Serena said with a smirk. Emily looked up at her sister and nodded her head.

"Of course."

Serena smiled and shifted herself so she was sitting and facing Emily. Gently, she removed the snow globe from her sister's hands and took them in hers.

"You know, when you phoned me… I hardly recognised you," she said. "I mean, you're still the same old Emily, but you've changed so much. And for the better. You've finally got friends who won't pull your pigtails or push you in the sand, steal your lunch or…"

"I get it," Emily turned away. Serena chuckled.

"What I'm trying to say is that you've finally got some friends who love you for who you are; friends who will do anything to see you happy. You know, those five Rangers, they spent hours trying to decide whether or not it would be wise to become Nighloks and travel to the Netherworld. The only reason they didn't was because they've got a planet to save, but they were willing to give up everything for just a moment, just to save your life. How many people can say that?"

Emily shrugged.

Serena smiled, "You know, that boyfriend of yours is pretty crazy," she said, "He's the only one who thought: '_Screw you, World. I'm going to save Emily_'. Had it not been for Dekker, we'd probably be fighting a Nighlok that looks a lot like Mike."

Emily looked up at her sister, "He was…"

"According to Dekker, he was moments away," Serena nodded. "So, you've got friends that'll give up anything for you, and a boyfriend who will literally go to hell and back for you. I think you've done pretty good for yourself, don't you think?"

Emily nodded her head, "I guess."

"It's true," Serena said. "And you're not the same Emily I used to know. You're the Emily I always knew you could be. Strong, smart, brave… everything I wish I was."

"What?"

"And," Serena continued, "I wish I was the yellow Ranger. It looks like a lot of fun. You kick monster ass for a living, save lives and you're a part of a wonderful family."

"Wait… what do you mean? You are the…"

Serena pulled the Samuraizer from her pocket and placed it in her sister's hand.

"This was never mine," she said while looking at the Samuraizer. "I've always known you were supposed to be here, not me… but I never told you. I didn't want to put you in danger. The last thing I ever want to lose is my baby sister. But it's obvious you're still safe and you're the best choice for this team. I could never take this away from you. Your friends, your family… your responsibility. This is all yours, Emily."

Emily didn't know what to say. She had lived her life thinking she was always the second-choice – the replacement to her older sister. Now, though, she was being told otherwise. She had always been the first choice. She was supposed to be here. Everything that happened had happened for a reason, and it had happened for her.

Serena pulled her into a tight hug, "Keep fighting, okay? Keep the boys in line, keep Mia from sleeping in, even on weekends, and please keep in touch."

"But Mentor…"

"I'll handle Mentor," Serena smirked. "I'm not exactly defenceless. You don't have to worry about putting me in danger. I know the risks."

"I'll write when I can," Emily nodded.

"Good," Serena smiled. She took her sister's hand, "C'mon, let's go tell the others the… whoa! Emily!"

Emily took off before her sister was ready but pulled Serena along with her until she reached the common room where the others were waiting. She let go of her sister before jumping into Mike's arms. Her momentum gave him no choice but to spin her as he caught her.

"I'm staying!" she smiled when he set her back on her feet. He nodded his head and wrapped her up tight in his arms.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Serena grinned happily for her little sister as she watched the team welcome her back even though she had never left.

She stood beside Mentor who was also watching the scene with a smile.

"So… unless you plan on turning Jayden into a mailman, I'll need to know how to send letters to the Shiba house."

"Serena, it is…"

"Don't say no," Serena glared at Mentor, "I'm keeping in touch with my baby sister so I know she's okay. If you say no, I'll find a very uncomfortable place to shove that stick of yours."

"Serena…"

Serena held up a hand, "I'm my mother's daughter and I'm pretty sure there's a little bit of Emily somewhere inside me. Do you really want to test that combination?"

"I'll set something up," Mentor nodded.

"Thought so," Serena smirked as she gave him a pat on the shoulder.


	93. A Ranger Trip

"Emily, get off…"

"No."

"Emy…" Serena shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. She glared at her little sister who was sitting on top of her suitcase and refused to move. After a few extra days spent with Emily and the team, it was finally time for Serena to go home and just as everyone had expected, it wasn't going to be easy to say goodbye.

"You heard Mentor, we'll stay in contact," Serena sighed. "I won't be very far away. If you guys ever need help I'll be right there."

"I got her," Kevin smirked. He grabbed Emily and lifted her off Serena's suitcase. The older sister chuckled as she grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

"Remember guys, feed her three times a day, make sure you let her out so she can run around, and whatever you do, do not fill her up with sugar and caffeine," Serena teased as she started with the goodbye hugs. She hadn't been with the Rangers for a very long time, but she had already befriended them all. They were a good group of kids and she was certain that if she had been chosen to be the yellow Ranger, she would have gotten along with them. But the duty wasn't hers and she accepted that.

When she reached Mike the hugging stopped and she gave him a look. Mike shifted his gaze from side to side nervously. Serena had already given him the "big sister talk", but that didn't mean he had fully convinced her that he was the right guy for Emily, even though he had nearly gone to hell and back for her. However, he didn't blame her. She was extremely protective of Emily, as everyone was, and it would take a while for anyone to be comfortable with the relationship. After all, Emily was sweet and kind and Mike was the troublemaker.

But, Serena did give him a hug – a rather tight hug – and whispered in his ear.

"Look out for her."

He nodded his head as they pulled apart. He didn't need to be told twice. He didn't even need to be told once. He would never let anything happen to Emily. He cared too much to see her hurting, even a little.

Finally, Serena said her goodbyes to Emily. It wasn't easy for her to do. She trusted she would see Emily again, but the life of the Samurai was unpredictable. It was entirely possible that Emily wouldn't return home. But with the team as close as they were, Serena was confident Emily would be okay.

"Well, I'm off," Serena said as she parted from her sister and walked to the door, "Mom and dad are probably freaking out given how long I've been gone."

"Tell them I miss them," Emily smiled and waved goodbye. Serena nodded her head and left, knowing that if she didn't step out the door now, she never would.

"So…" Mike shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked at his friends, "This is the awkward part where no one really knows what to do now that Serena's gone, huh?"

"Why don't I make lunch?" Antonio suggested, "I've got some bass leftover from Emily's birthday."

Mentor Ji approached the Rangers with packed suitcases and tossed them each one.

"I have a different plan," he told them as he gestured to the common room. "Sit and wait for me there. I have one thing I need to do."

The Rangers exchanged curious looks as they followed Mentor Ji's orders and headed into the other room. Mentor waited for them to take their seats before heading towards the door. He stepped outside and called Serena's name just as she reached the end of his land.

She heard him and turned around.

"What is it?" she asked as he walked over to her. He reached into his kimono and pulled out a communicator.

"It's much faster than letters," he told her. "It works with the Samuraizers. However, it should only be used in emergencies."

"Thanks," Serena nodded and smiled at the older man, "You see, I told you there was something you could do. You gotta believe in yourself, Mentor."

"I am giving this to you for a reason," Mentor looked as serious as ever as he spoke, even when Serena teased him. "As you probably know, I have eyes and ears all over the city."

"Mom told me about your freaky all-knowing thing," Serena nodded. "I just thought she was making stuff up, you know, to make you seem cooler than you actually are."

"Serena…"

"Sorry, Mentor," Serena bowed slightly. Mentor could only roll her eyes. She was just like her mother, with a touch of Emily. It was refreshing for him to see. "So, what have you been seeing and hearing?"

"Master Xandred is becoming more and more powerful."

"You don't have to tell me," Serena nodded her head. The day before she had watched the Rangers battle giant Moogers. They had done well, but it was obviously becoming more and more difficult for them to keep up with their enemy's progress.

"The Sanzu River is rising, and I'm afraid if we don't find more power soon the Rangers won't stand a chance against Master Xandred."

"If you want me to help…"

"I am sending the Rangers to the Tengen Gate," Mentor interrupted her. Serena furrowed her brows. Her mother had told her of the gate when she was a child. It was the most sacred place for the samurai. It was the location of the first battle against Master Xandred. The city where the gate stood had been completely flooded by the Sanzu River. Thankfully, the Samurai of the time managed to stop Master Xandred and seal him away before he became too powerful.

"You mean Japan?" Serena asked. "Mentor, you can't send the Rangers to Japan. You just said it yourself, Master Xandred is getting stronger and he's attacking us here! You can't send our only hope overseas."

"I have my reasons, Serena," Mentor said. "Trust that the city will be safe in their absence."

"You want me to defend it while they're gone, don't you?" Serena smirked and winked at Mentor. He shook his head.

"No."

"Aw, c'mon…"

"I would like you to keep an eye on the Rangers," Mentor once again reached into his kimono. This time he pulled out a plane ticket, "Your flight leaves tonight. Do not let them see you."

"I…" Serena glanced down at the plane ticket in her hand before nodding her head, "I won't let you down, Mentor."

"You will land a few hours before the Rangers do," Mentor said as he turned back to the house, "In that time, I expect you to travel to the gate yourself and meet with the elder guardian: Daisuke. He'll be expecting you."

-Samurai-

"Where do you think Mentor's sending us?" Mike asked the rest of the group as he gently kicked the bag he set on the floor, trying to figure out what was inside it without opening it. The bag was soft, allowing him to assume there were some clothes inside, but Mike knew there was more to it than that.

"Samurai boot camp?" Antonio chuckled. "That would be pretty cool."

"I thought this was boot camp," Emily smirked. She turned to Jayden. He usually had an idea of what Mentor Ji was planning, "Jay?"

"This time I'm not sure," Jayden shrugged his shoulders.

Mentor walked back inside the house and headed straight for the bookshelf. Mike, Emily and Antonio groaned. The only time Mentor went to the bookshelf was when he was about to teach them Samurai history. As interesting as it was to learn about the ancient battles and the former Samurai, Mike, Emily and Antonio never had the patience to sit through his long, monotone talks.

"How many of you have heard of the Black Box?" Mentor asked the Rangers as he set an open book down on the table. All the Rangers leaned forward to get a look at the image in the book. Aside from Jayden, all the Rangers shook their heads.

"What is it?" Mia asked.

"A magic talisman, created by the very first red Ranger," Mentor answered. "It is said it can unite the symbol power of all Rangers into one."

"Kick-ass," Mike smiled. "Why are you just telling us about this now?"

"The red ranger never finished the talisman," Jayden looked to Mike.

"Incomplete sealing symbols, dropping the ball on a special talisman… did you red Rangers finish anything?" Mike grumbled before Emily slapped his arm.

"Many have tried," Mentor explained, "but none have the skill or power to complete it."

The Rangers lowered their heads sadly but Emily looked over at Antonio. He wasn't technically a Ranger but he had already programmed and fixed two Megazords without any help. Surely they could give him a shot at finishing the talisman.

"Think you can do it?" she asked the gold Ranger? "You're a tech wiz, and this Ranger stuff is a techy as it gets."

Antonio shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know, I mean… that's a lot of symbol power."

"And no offense to Antonio, but he doesn't have mastery of symbol power," Kevin offered Antonio an apologetic look as it said this. "I mean, it drains us when we use it. Imagine what it could do to Antonio."

"It can't be worse than using the symbol power without the Samuraizer," Emily said to Kevin.

"Kevin's right," Jayden said. "Even transferring a few of our symbols into the box could destroy him."

"Jayden," Mia spoke up, "We're talking about saving the human race. If Antonio's willing to try, we should give him a shot."

"Can I sleep on this or something?" Antonio asked. He knew he was putting his life on the line by being a Samurai, but he never thought he could be destroyed by a gadget that would help the Rangers.

"Regardless of whether Antonio would like to help or not," Mentor grabbed the book from the table and slammed it shut; "I believe it's best if we have the box with us. One way or another, we will figure out how to program it."

"Okay, so where is this box?" Mike asked.

Mentor reached into his kimono and pulled out six plane tickets. He handed one to each of the Rangers.

"Your flight leaves in the early morning," he told them. "I've packed the essentials in your bags and I've left enough room for you to each grab a few more personal items of your choice."

"Japan?" Kevin said as he looked at the destination on his ticket, "We're going to Japan?"

"The Tengen Gate," Jayden nodded.


	94. Flight

"First class?" Mike asked as he boarded the plane and doubled checked the seats on his ticket. He smiled, "Go Mentor."

"Mike, we aren't here on vacation," Kevin reminded the green Ranger as he took his seat. He glanced over at Mike, "We're here on business."

"Yeah, but how much business can we get done on an airplane? I say we enjoy ourselves," Mike checked his seat and noticed he had taken the seat next to Kevin. He rolled his eyes and sighed, "Oh, great… I'm stuck with you…"

He turned to Mia just as the pink Ranger was about to take her seat beside Emily on the other side of the plane, "Mia, do you want to switch?"

"No switching seats," the attendant told Mike as she walked by. She flashed him a smiled that freaked him out slightly. "It's our policy. It's for your own good."

"Yeah, but…"

"Please, sir, take a seat," the attendant gestured to Mike's seat. He grumbled and took one last look at the other end of the plane before he sat down. He glared at Kevin.

"You better not drool on my shoulder."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Kevin nodded.

In the aisle seats, Jayden and Antonio were already settled in and Jayden was explaining to his friend the story behind the Black Box and the Tengen Gate. Antonio had proven himself a valuable member of the team, but unfortunately he wasn't a trained Samurai. Jayden understood that there was a lot that Antonio didn't quite understand about the Samurai history and he didn't want his friend falling behind when they were at the Gate. The more Antonio knew, the better it would be for everyone.

"I still don't know how I'm going to program all those symbols into one little talisman," Antonio sighed. "I guess I'll try to do it, but…"

"Don't worry," Jayden smiled to Antonio, "You'll have us all helping you."

"Is it really that dangerous?" Antonio whispered, trying not to draw attention to himself. There were other passengers on the flight and they didn't need to know there were six Power Rangers on board.

"It is," Jayden nodded, "But we'll figure it out. Besides, I trust you, Antonio."

"At least we're getting a free trip out this," Antonio leaned back in his seat and got comfortable. "I've always wanted to visit Japan."

"We won't have much time to visit," Jayden said. "We'll just be going to the gate."

"Still," Antonio smirked, "This is so cool!"

On the other side of the plane, Mia was sitting in her seat, perfectly at ease. She had brought a few magazines to keep herself busy, knowing the flight would be a long one.

Beside her, Emily was shaky and it didn't take a genius to figure out this was her first time in an airplane. Mia wasn't surprised. With Serena being sick for so many years there was no reason for Emily or her family to take vacations, and before that her parents were probably too busy training Serena to even think of going on holiday.

After a few moments of watching Emily shake, Mia put her magazine down and turned to the yellow Ranger.

"Are you okay?"

"Are you sure this thing can fly?" Emily asked. "It's a big, metal chunk and probably weighs a million tons… how can it fly?"

"Emily, it's fine," Mia chuckled. "It's science. The plane flies because of how it was built."

"What if it wasn't built right?" Emily asked. She leaned into Mia, "What if it crashes?"

"It won't crash," Mia assured her. "We'll be fine."

Emily leaned back into her chair. She bit her lip and tapped her foot against the ground repeatedly as her nerves played with her.

"If Earth Samurais were meant to fly, we would be Wind," Emily commented, turning back to Mia, "This isn't natural… not for me."

"Emily, you'll be fine."

"No, you'll be fine," Emily shook her head, "I'm freaking out."

Mia took Emily's hand, "Relax, Em. You know, it's safer to fly in a plane than drive in a car?"

"Great…"

"What?"

"Now I'm scared of driving."

Mia shrank in her seat and went back to reading, "This is going to be a _long_ flight."

-Samurai-

At first, Mike hated that he was stuck with Kevin, especially after he noticed how nervous Emily was about being on an airplane. But things were really starting to turn around for Mike.

Mia was keeping his girlfriend calm for him so Mike could focus on entertaining himself. He had brought a few of his videos games for the flight but nothing was better than purposely annoying Kevin.

The Blue Ranger had fallen asleep shortly after take-off and had been sleeping on and off ever since. Mike had already pulled a few pranks on Kevin in that time.

His latest: wet-willy.

"Mike!" Kevin nearly jumped out of his seat when he felt Mike's wet finger enter his ear. He rubbed his ear, trying to dry it off as he turned to the green Ranger. Mike smirked innocently as he wiped his finger on his pants.

"What?" he asked Kevin. The blue Ranger growled.

"Seriously?" he was still rubbing his ear, "We only have a few more hours left? Can you leave me alone, at least until we land?"

"C'mon, man! I'm bored."

"You brought a thousand video games," Kevin pointed to the bag at Mike's feet, "Play with one of those."

"But you're twice as entertaining," Mike smirked.

"Only a few more hours," Kevin whispered to himself as he turned away from Mike and tried to fall back to sleep.

-Samurai-

Antonio and Jayden were keeping busy in a less annoying fashion. Now that they were on a plane with nothing to do and no one to interrupt them, they finally had the time to catch up on all the years they've been apart.

"You know," Jayden chuckled as Antonio finished telling him about his high school Spanish teacher, "You'd think the teacher would like a student who challenges him."

"You'd think," Antonio nodded, "But man, did this guy struggle. Half the time I wanted to teach the class myself."

"You probably would have been better off," Jayden smirked. "Trust me; I know how you feel, though."

"How can you know how I feel?" Antonio asked. "You never went to school."

"Yeah, but Mentor did let me out of the house," Jayden chuckled. "You know how the Samurai followed Master Xandred when he began attacking the States instead of Japan, right?"

"You told me earlier," Antonio nodded.

"Well, it seems that a lot of people are fans of the Samurai and therefore are fans of Japanese culture, at least, in our hometown they are."

"I noticed," Antonio snickered, remembering the stories Jayden had told him of Bulk and Spike.

"Well," Jayden continued, "more than once I've seen people with Japanese Kanji tattoos. They all claim the symbols mean hope, love, unity, determination, passion… all that stuff, right?"

"They never do?"

"Sometimes," Jayden nodded, "But there have been a few…"

Jayden really started to laugh and struggled to finish telling his story.

"Let's just say, if they knew what their tattoos really meant," Jayden said through fits of laughter, "they would have them removed."

-Samurai-

Having finished reading her magazines, Mia was enjoying the in-flight movie with Emily, happy the yellow Ranger was distracted from the fact that she was thousands of feet in the air. She understood Emily's reservations about flying, but she knew there was nothing to worry about. The pilots were trained and the airplane was well built. All Emily needed to do was calm down and relax.

Suddenly, the TV screen faded to black and the girls heard a ding. They looked up and saw the seat belt light had been turned on.

"_Ladies and gentlemen, as we start our descent, please make sure your __seat backs__ and __tray tables__ are in their full upright position. Make sure your __seat belt__ is securely fastened and all __carry-on luggage__ is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. Please turn off all __electronic devices__ until we are safely parked at the gate. Thank you."_

As Mia began setting herself up for the descent, Emily's eyes widened.

"Oh no…"

"What?" Mia turned to the younger Ranger, "Emily, the flight's almost over."

"I know…" Emily grabbed the armrests tightly, "We're going down."

"Are you serious?"

"What if…"

"Emily," Mia turned to the yellow Ranger, "You remember back home there was a crazy man just outside the airport who tried to sell us some suspicious stuff?"

"Yeah," Emily nodded her head.

"I should have bought something that would knock you out," Mia said. She reached over Emily and opened the window cover, "Look at how pretty the view is from up here. The last thing we're going to do is crash into it. We made it all this way, we can make it down."

-Samurai-

"So, how did everyone enjoy the flight?" Jayden asked as he and the other Rangers left the airport and stood on the streets of Japan. No one really knew where to go or how to get there, but it was obvious they wouldn't be able to use a taxi to get to the Tengen gate. It was a Samurai secret, and the people of Japan wouldn't know how to get there.

"Please tell me there's another way of going home?" Kevin asked as he glared at Mike, "Maybe a way that doesn't involve sitting next to Mike."

"You had fun, admit it," Mike chuckled. He gave the blue Ranger a pat on the back as Kevin rolled his eyes. There was a hint of a smile on Kevin's face though. While many of Mike's pranks had been irritating, time had passed quickly and occasionally Kevin had found himself entertained when one of Mike's pranks would backfire.

"At least you weren't seated next to this thing," Mia grumbled as she pointed to Emily, "Want something for the scrolls? Earth Samurais do not make good airplane passengers."

"I'm keeping my feet on solid ground," Emily nodded her head. "No more flying for me, please."

"So, where exactly is this Gate, Jay?" Antonio asked. Jayden shrugged his shoulders and opened his bag. He knew Mentor wouldn't have left them to wander around Japan. They had a city back home to protect. Mentor had assured them that the city would be safe in their absence, but that didn't mean they could vacation here or spend days searching for a hidden temple.

"He must have packed a map or something," Jayden's fingers brushed on a rolled up paper and he smiled. He pulled it out of his bag and unravelled it.

"Sweet, a map," Mike smirked, peeking over Jayden's shoulder, "So, where do we head?"

"North," Jayden said. "Follow me. We'll be there by the end of the day."


	95. The Tengen Gate

After hours of walking, the Rangers finally reached a clearing in the middle of the forest. In the clearing, they noticed a large wooden gate standing before a temple.

They approached the gate with smiles, knowing that finally, after a long flight and a long walk, they could rest.

Mike, however, was a little disappointed. He looked up at the gate and furrowed his brow.

"This is the Tengen Gate?" he asked as he passed under the gate. "It's just a big wood thing…"

"The Tengen Gate is an important part of Ranger history, Mike," Jayden reminded the green Ranger. He bowed before passing under the gate, and the other four followed his lead.

As they entered the temple grounds, Jayden walked them over to a monument. He smiled at his team.

"This commemorates where the first Samurai Rangers battled the Nighlok army," he said. He liked how he could share this piece of Samurai history with his friends, and they seemed really interested. Even Mike, Emily and Antonio were listening carefully and seemed eager to learn. Of course, they were always more attentive when they didn't have to learn from a book.

"My mom once told me the Sanzu River flooded the entire city," Emily said as she turned to her friends.

"What happened?" Mike asked her.

"The Rangers defeated them," Kevin answered him. He turned and gave Mike a look, "They never gave up, and they took their training seriously."

"They certainly did," the Rangers heard a voice said and they turned to see an elderly man approaching them. He smiled at the Rangers, "Although, the legends tell us that the green Ranger was a bit of a prankster."

Emily laughed, "Things haven't changed much."

"No way," Mike smirked.

The elderly man nodded and leaned on his staff as he turned to Mike, "Apparently, he drove the blue Ranger crazy."

"I'll say," Kevin chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"But, they were still the best of friends," the elderly man smiled. He placed a hand on his chest, "I am Daisuke, the elder guardian."

All at once the Rangers bowed in respect to the man as he welcomed them. He gestured to the entrance of the temple.

"Please, make yourselves at home;" he told them, "You must be tired after such a long flight."

The Rangers took Daisuke up on his offer and followed one of the servants into the temple. Jayden was the only one who didn't follow. He stayed behind and turned back to the monument.

Daisuke approached him when he saw the red Ranger was deep in thought, "A penny for your thoughts, Jayden."

Jayden turned to the old man, "It's nothing."

"I take it you haven't told them, yet?"

Jayden furrowed his brow before he shook his head, "No. They're my friends, Daisuke. I don't like lying to them, but…"

Daisuke placed his hand on Jayden's shoulder, "I'm sorry, but it is your responsibility to be the red Ranger."

"I know," Jayden nodded.

Daisuke tapped the Samurai on the shoulder a couple of times before gesturing to the temple, "You will tell them when the time is right. For now, why not rest up with the others."

Jayden nodded and followed the older man into the temple. He found the Rangers staring at a mural in interest, and while he was curious to find out the meaning of the mural, he also noticed something out of place. On the table, in the middle of the room, was a single cup that was still half filled with tea.

Just as he noticed it, one of the servants grabbed the cup from the table and hid it behind his back. He shot Jayden a look that told the red Ranger not to speak of this. Jayden chuckled to himself and shook his head. It seemed even the most disciplined weren't always organized and clean.

He wondered why there would be one cup of tea out as he turned to the mural and listen to Daisuke telling the Rangers of the story behind the wall painting.

"It's an old folk tale," Daisuke said, "A young woman made a deal with the Nighlok King to save the life of her beloved. But, the King tricked her and turned them both into Nighlok."

"Sure sounds like something a Nighlok would do," Kevin said, shaking his head. "Why would anyone trust a Nighlok?"

Mia glanced at the woman in the painting, tracing her form gently with her fingers.

"The King took away the man's memory," Daisuke continued the story, "He cursed him to walk the earth alone forever."

"What happened to the bride?" Mia asked.

Daisuke shrugged his shoulders, "No one really knows. I have heard many stories in my time."

"It's strange," Mia turned back to the mural, "This story kind of sounds familiar."

"Well, if in the end they live happily ever after, then it'll be just like all those rom-com movies you watch," Kevin teased his girlfriend. Mia shook her head.

"I'm serious, Kevin," she said. "This story sounds really familiar. I think I've heard something like it before."

"Maybe you had a dream like it when we had to play bride?" Emily suggested. "I know I had a few weird dreams after that. One of them involved me being baked into a giant wedding cake…"

"I'm sure the truth will come out eventually," Daisuke nodded his head before pointing to a hallway. "You will find two bedrooms just down there. Feel free to rest for the night. Tomorrow, I will give you what you have come for."

-Samurai-

Serena wandered through the grounds of the Tengen Gate alone in the middle of the night. After landing in Japan she found her way to the temple and made it only a couple of hours before the Rangers caught up to her. Fortunately she had slipped out of sight before they noticed she was with them. She didn't know why Mentor didn't want them to know she was there, but she wasn't going to question or defy his orders unless she needed to.

She couldn't sleep that night, though. Jet-lag was messing with her internal clock and there were too many thoughts going through her head. She wondered why Mentor needed someone to babysit the Rangers. They were all old enough to take care of themselves, and Daisuke seemed more than capable of looking after them for the duration of their stay.

As she wandered the grounds, lost in thought, she heard a noise. Thinking it was maybe Daisuke or one of the servants, she turned to the source.

She jumped and nearly screamed when she found herself face to face with Dekker. She kept all sound from escaping her mouth, though, knowing it would only alert the Rangers she was here.

"What the hell?" she asked the man, "What are you doing here?"

"I have followed the Rangers," Dekker answered her, "Just as I always have."

"Okay, I know you saved my life and all," Serena took a few steps away from Dekker, trying to keep as much distance as possible, "but you are officially on my _don't trust _list."

She gestured to the weapons in his hand, "Don't tell me they let you on a plane with that thing."

"I am part Nighlok," Dekker told her. "I do not need to travel on modern-day aircrafts like you do."

Serena shrugged before she furrowed her brow and looked at Dekker.

"Wait, what?"

Dekker stepped past her, "It is time."

"Time for what?" Serena asked, turning to Dekker. She grabbed his arm, "How did you get here?"

Dekker stopped in his tracks, "The Nighlok have many portals here on Earth. You didn't think they were limited to one city. Are you not aware of the significance of this place?"

"Duh," Serena nodded. "This is where the battle took place."

"The Nighlok appeared here once," Dekker said, "They can do so again."

"Okay… but that doesn't explain why you're here," Serena frowned. "My sister told me all about you… you don't fight with Master Xandred. You're on your own mission."

"To duel the red Ranger and satisfy Urumasa's hunger for a challenging foe."

Serena quickly glanced at the temple, "You're going after Jayden."

"I have waited long enough," Dekker nodded. "Finally, he is strong enough to duel."

Serena shook her head. No way was she letting Dekker go anywhere near Jayden or the other Rangers. She promised Mentor Ji she would keep them safe, and she intended to keep that promise.

"Jayden's busy, try again later."

Dekker chuckled, "Do you think you can stop me?" he asked Serena. "You think you have the strength to challenge Urumasa? Your destiny was a lie."

"You know way too much," Serena growled as she circled Dekker until she stood between him and the temple. "Jayden's not going to battle you. He's got more important things to do."

Dekker glanced up at the sky, "Perhaps you are right. This is not the time to battle. There would be too many interruptions."

"What?" Serena frowned before she shook her head. She didn't care for Dekker's reasoning as long as it meant he wouldn't duel Jayden.

"I will wait for a better time," Dekker turned his back to Serena. "Soon though, the red Ranger and I will duel. Very soon."

Serena couldn't help but scratch her head curiously as she watched the warrior walk away from the temple. Emily and the other Rangers were right when they said he was mysterious. She couldn't figure him out. In fact, she was almost certain he couldn't figure himself out.

"What a strange man…" she breathed before hearing more footsteps approaching her. She turned, almost expecting a Nighlok or Master Xandred himself. She was relieved to see it was only Daisuke.

"What are you doing up this late?" he asked her.

Serena turned to where Dekker had disappeared before she shook her head.

"Nothing. I should head back to my room before one of the Rangers wanders out and sees me."

"You will keep a close eye on them, yes?" Daisuke asked her. "Over the years some powerful Nighlok have crossed into our world and have tried to come into the temple. I don't doubt they will try again once they realise the Rangers are here recovering the Black Box."

"Powerful Nighlok?" Serena asked. Daisuke nodded his head.

"I'm afraid these Nighlok might be a little too much for the Rangers to handle on their own, even with the golden addition. I hear from Mentor Ji that you are a strong Samurai."

"Yeah," Serena nodded, "I've been training since I was in diapers. I mean, I've been sick for eight years, so I'm a little off my game, but…"

"Nevertheless, you are still a force to be reckoned with. A force Master Xandred does not know about. I'm sure the gold Ranger has thrown him off enough already."

"I'm not a Ranger," Serena shook her head, "That title belongs to Emily."

"But you are involved," Daisuke smirked. He placed his hand on her back and guided her back inside the temple, "Come. Rest. Tomorrow will be another long day."


	96. The Tengen Battle

It was morning at the temple and the Rangers were up bright and early after a well deserved rest.

They were gathered in the main room and took a seat on the cushions that had been laid out for them on the floor. They sat in a circle, with Daisuke joining them. He brought out a box and placed it in the middle of the circle.

"The Black Box," he told the Rangers as he opened the box, revealing a small device, "the most powerful Samurai weapon ever conceived."

"We'll definitely be kicking some Nighlok ass when we get this baby fired up," Mike grinned as Jayden pulled the device from the box to inspect it.

Daisuke smiled at Mike before looking back at the other Rangers, "Few even know of its existence."

"Thank you, Daisuke," Jayden turned to the elderly man and nodded his head in respect, "I shall protect it with my life."

One of the servants came into the room, carrying a tray of cups and a teapot. He set it down on the table near Daisuke and poured the tea into the pots for the Rangers and the Guardian. He bowed to the team of Samurai when he was finished and hurried off.

Daisuke looked to Antonio once the servant was gone, "I hope you will be able to program it," he said, "With each passing day the Nighlok presence grows stronger."

Behind, him, everyone failed to notice a portal had opened up just over where the teas had been placed. There was a faint glow surrounding the cups that disappeared as Daisuke turned around to grab the tray of drinks for the Rangers.

"I'll try my best, Daisuke," Antonio said, glancing at his friends quickly, "but from what I heard this thing is pretty powerful. Even if I do get it programmed, it might take a while."

"We can only hope for the best," Daisuke said. He placed the tray down before the Rangers, letting them each grab their own cup. "Let us drink together, to honour the Rangers – past and present."

The Rangers smirked, holding their glasses in the air before bringing them to their mouths to drink. Jayden was the first to take a sip and regretted it the moment he did. The tea burned his mouth, but not in the expected way. It wasn't too hot – it had been tampered with. He spit the drink out quickly and the others pulled their glasses away from their mouths before they too could take a sip.

Jayden growled in agony and grabbed his throat. Whatever he had swallowed burned as it made its way down into his stomach. He fell backwards onto the ground and rolled in pain.

"Jayden!" the Rangers jumped to their feet to help their leader.

"The drink… it's poisoned…" Jayden managed to say through the pain.

Suddenly, the servant who had served the tea rushed back into the room with a panicked look on his face.

"Daisuke, there's a Nighlok in the garden!"

Kevin turned to the door, "Nighlok?"

"We can't leave Jayden," Mia said, kneeling by her leader's side.

Jayden shook his head, "Don't worry about me," he told his team. "You have to protect this place. Go hurry!"

"I will watch over him," Daisuke assured the Rangers, "You must stop the Nighlok."

"C'mon," Kevin nodded, leading the team into the garden while pulling out his Samuraizer. He traced his power symbol in the air and ran through it, transforming instantly into the blue Ranger. The others followed his lead.

They found the Spider-Nighlok in the garden, terrorizing the other servants. They all got away when the Moogers and the Nighlok noticed the Rangers appear.

"Only five of you?" the Nighlok chuckled, "Well, seems like my little scheme has worked."

The Rangers didn't have time to question his words as the Moogers rushed forward, challenging them to a battle. The Rangers pulled out their swords.

They managed to push the Nighlok and the Moogers off the Tengen grounds and into the forest surrounding it, keeping Jayden, Daisuke and all the other people inside the temple safe. The Moogers were no harder to defeat than usual, but continued to pop up and jump the Rangers. After a few moments, Emily noticed the Nighlok was nowhere to be seen. She turned to Mia.

"Where's Spidey?" she asked as she slashed a Mooger.

Mia quickly turned to her, taking out another Mooger, "I don't know. Think he'll turn back up?"

Suddenly and seemingly from nowhere the Nighlok jumped from the trees and swung his arms at Mia and Emily. They blocked him with their swords and Mia turned to her yellow Ranger.

"You had to ask."

"My bad," Emily said just before they were thrown off their feet.

"I'm not even breaking a sweat!" the Nighlok taunted as he watched them hit the ground hard. They pushed themselves to their feet, struggling to stand, but bravely faced the Nighlok.

"Okay… let's try that again," Emily said.

"With better results," Mia added.

"Let's," the Nighlok cackled as a faint light began to shine from his mouth and silk was shot towards the girls, wrapping them up together tightly and squeezing them painfully.

"Let them go!" Kevin shouted as he jumped over the girls and fired his hydro bow at the Nighlok, cutting the silk and knocking him off his feet. Kevin landed protectively in front of the girls as they were released from the silk and fell to the ground.

Mike and Antonio hurried over to the girls, helping them to their feet.

"Are you guys okay?" Mike asked, looking at Emily. She nodded her head.

"Yeah, we're fine."

"I could beat you all!" the Nighlok scoffed, charging forward.

-Samurai-

Serena knew she wasn't supposed to be seen by the Rangers while she was at the temple, but she couldn't ignore the Nighlok presence. She hurried into the main room and saw Daisuke tending to what appeared to be a sick Jayden.

"Jay!" she rushed to his side and knelt down beside him. Jayden looked up at her.

"Serena?"

"He's been poisoned," Daisuke explained as he tried to get Jayden to take a sip of what would hopefully be an antidote.

"Seriously?" Daisuke, Serena and Jayden turned when they heard a strange voice shouting from the doorway. They looked up and recognised Octoroo. The squid-faced Nighlok stood at the other end of the room, "You're going to fight my black magic potion with dried mushroom?"

Serena jumped to her feet to defend Jayden, but a surge of energy from Octoroo's staff sent her hurling into the wall behind her. She hit the wall and dropped, face first, onto the ground.

Daisuke got to his feet, standing before Serena and Jayden.

"Foolish Nighlok!" he shouted, waving his staff, "You were defeated here once before and you shall be again!"

"Ooh, ah, ooh, you want a piece of me too?" Octoroo taunted.

"Wait!" Jayden called when he saw Octoroo taking a step forward to challenge Daisuke, "It's me you want. Let them go."

"Jayden," Serena coughed.

"Fine by me," Octoroo said to Jayden, "I just need one thing from you. You're going to show me the seal you red Rangers use to seal away Master Xandred."

-Samurai-

The Rangers once again found themselves on the ground after a less-than-successful attempt at harming the Nighlok. He was definitely one of the most powerful monsters they had ever faced and it didn't help that they were one Ranger short.

As they scrambled to get to their feet, the Nighlok unleashed his silk, this time wrapping them all up in his web. He laughed loudly as he toyed with them; whipping them around and smashing them into trees as if it were nothing.

"Let us go!" Mike shouted once the Nighlok slammed them into the ground and gave them a few moments to rest.

"If you insist," the Nighlok chuckled as a surge of energy traveled along the spider web and blasted the Rangers free. They could feel their powers leaving them as they once again hit the ground.

They struggled to lift their bodies from the ground, but they had no energy left. The Nighlok was too strong, and given the fact that he was still laughing and enjoying this battle, all five Rangers knew they had no chance of defeating him, especially not in their current state.

"This can't be happening," Kevin muttered through gritted teeth as he watched Antonio, Emily, Mia and Mike pass out, one by one, leaving them completely vulnerable to the Nighlok.

The spider monster walked over to them with a slight bounce in his step. Victory was near, he knew it.

Suddenly, Kevin watched as a portal opened up in one of the trees just beside the Nighlok and the monster was pulled out of the human world.

Kevin sighed in relief. He didn't know how long this would last, but at least for now he and the others were safe. Tired, beaten and bruised, his world faded to black and his head hit the ground.

-Samurai-

"Jayden, you can't!" Serena watched as Jayden got to his knees and started to crawl. He looked pathetic as he inched his way over to Octoroo, but the squid-face didn't care. He wanted to know the secret of the sealing symbol.

Having caught her breath, Serena jumped to her feet. She wasn't going to let Octoroo take Jayden, not while she still had some fight in her.

As she challenged Octoroo she failed to notice Dekker sneaking into the temple. The warrior quickly took out Daisuke before kneeling next to Jayden's now unconscious form.

"Soon, it will be time," Dekker whispered to the red Ranger as he lifted him onto his shoulder. "I will need you at full strength before my plan can begin."

"No!" Octoroo shouted when he saw Dekker grabbing the red Ranger. Serena turned and for once she agreed with a Nighlok.

"Dekker!" she shouted as the battle ended between her and the squid.

"Do not interrupt me, girl," Dekker warned her. "This duel will happen."

"He's poisoned!" Serena told him. "He won't be able to fight."

"Let me worry about him," Dekker said. "I will take care of him. Then, we will have our duel."

"Don't bet on it."

"Your sister and her friends are in trouble," Dekker told Serena. "You should go to them. I need them alive for my duel."

"What?" Serena frowned. She glanced over her shoulder and looked out the window quickly. When she turned back to Dekker he and Jayden were gone. "No!"

"Dekker spoils everything," Octoroo slammed his staff into the ground in frustration. "I'm out of here!"

"No!" Serena turned to Octoroo just as he disappeared into a portal. She fell to her knees and slammed her fists into the ground.


	97. The Fallen Rangers

Serena didn't have any time to feel sorry for herself. As Daisuke stirred she snapped out of her pity party and turned to the Guardian. She watched as he used his cane to push himself up to his feet and suddenly she was reminded of the other Rangers. Dekker had told her they were in trouble and she wasn't going to fail them like she had Jayden.

She ran out of the Tengen Temple as fast as he legs would carry her. She hurried through the forest in search of her sister and her friends and found they on the ground completely defeated and beaten badly. She looked around for any sign of a Nighlok but the forest was empty. It was completely silent as well and the void haunted Serena as she fell to her knees. She could barely hear any of the fallen Rangers struggle to breathe. She had to do something.

"Kevin?" she called to the blue Ranger as she placed her hand on his back and shook him. She turned to the pink Ranger and did the same, "Mia?"

No answer. Serena bounced up and knelt down beside Antonio. She grabbed him and hoped she could shake him awake but Antonio remained limp. She let his body fall back down as she turned to Mike.

"C'mon, someone," she called, placing her hands on his chest and shaking him, "Wake up!"

She glanced at her sister but couldn't bring herself to check up on Emily, fearing the worst. She needed one of the Rangers to wake up.

Just as she was about to give up she heard someone stir behind her. She quickly spun around and saw Kevin was slowly trying to wake up. She rushed to his side and placed one hand on his back and the other on his arm and slowly rolled his over.

"Kevin," she tapped his cheek, "Kevin, wake up. C'mon, be okay, please!"

"The Nighlok…" Kevin muttered.

"He's gone," Serena assured him, "You're okay…. Please be okay."

She helped him sit up and leaned him against a tree, "Are you hurt?"

"Everywhere," Kevin nodded before he noticed his friends. His eyes widened and she jerked forward. He regretted it almost instantly as pain shot through his entire body and he would have doubled over had Serena not caught him.

"Don't move," she told him.

"Mia…"

"She's alive," Serena didn't sound too confident as she said this, but she knew that she had felt Mia breathing when she had her hand on the pink Ranger's back. She turned to Mia then looked back at Kevin, "I…"

Serena was taken off guard when Kevin threw himself forward. He landed on his hands and knees and crawled over to Mia. He sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms.

"That's love," for a moment a smile appeared on Serena's lips. She made her way over to Kevin and sat next to him, "Are you okay?"

Kevin nodded, "I have to be."

Serena sighed before looking over at the others, wondering if they would wake up soon or not. Kevin sat in the dirt, holding Mia in his arms.

Suddenly, he looked up, "Wait a minute… aren't we in…" he shot Serena a strange look, "how long was I out for?"

"Ten, maybe twenty minutes," Serena shrugged, "I don't know."

"Ten…?" Kevin was even more confused, "How did…?"

Serena looked at him, "You didn't think Mentor would send you all away on your own?"

"How long have you been here?"

"Longer than you," Serena answered. She rolled Antonio over so he was lying on his back. She figured it would be safer for him not to lie face down in the dirt and hoped the movement would maybe wake him up. She tapped the side of his face, trying to wake him, "C'mon, Antonio. Say something. You're always so full of life…"

To her relief she heard a faint voice coming from Antonio. She smiled and leaned in closer.

"What? Antonio…"

"Stop hitting my face…"

She breathed a sigh of relief when Antonio opened his eyes. Just like with Kevin, Serena could see the pain in his eyes, but at least he was awake. She hugged him and helped him sit up comfortably.

"How do you feel?"

"You know when they say it's just a little spider and it can't hurt you?" Antonio asked, hissing in pain as he spoke, "They lied."

Antonio looked around at his other friends and saw they were all no better off than him. Weakly, he called, "Guys?"

Suddenly, Mike rolled over onto his stomach. He was barely able to push himself off the ground, but he dragged himself over to Emily and brushed her hair out of her face.

"Em," he called to her softly, pain evident in his voice. Serena watched with worry and she hoped Mike would be able to wake her sister.

She blinked and turned away for a moment, thinking maybe Emily would wake up when she wasn't looking. She turned her attention back to Kevin and Mia and smiled when she saw the pink Ranger had her arms wrapped around Kevin.

"Thank god…" she whispered before turning back to Mike and Emily. She couldn't see Emily's face, but she could see Mike was talking with her and smiling, which was a good sign. "You're all alive…"

"Barely," Kevin nodded his head while the other Rangers turned to Serena, hearing her voice.

"How did you…?"

"That's not important," Serena interrupted Mike, "I need to get you guys somewhere safe. Can any of you walk?"

She saw they all shook their heads no and sighed. This was going to be difficult.

"Stay here," she told them as she jumped up, "I'll get help."


	98. Tengen Mysteries

"How are we going to beat that Nighlok?" Kevin asked as one of the servants tended to his many injuries. Bruises and scars covered his entire body, as well as the others, as a result of the beating he and the other Rangers had taken from the Nighlok and it was going to be a while before any of them were back on their feet. It would be even longer before they would be able to face the Nighlok again.

"We'll figure it out," Emily said. "We always do."

Mia looked around the room curiously and noted the many people surrounding her and her friends. There was Serena, who still hadn't explained why or how she had come to the Tengen Gate in Japan, Daisuke, and many servants, at least one per Ranger to help them with their injuries from the battle, and a few others who were bringing in bandages, ice packs and other medical equipment. Mia knew the temple was surprisingly populated, as it was built to protect many ancient Samurai artefacts, but she doubted there would be many more people, which left her to wonder where Jayden was and who was looking after him.

"How is Jayden?" she asked, turning to Daisuke who had promised to look after the Red Ranger. Daisuke lowered his head in shame.

"I have failed you, Rangers, and for that, I apologize."

"What?" Emily frowned. "Is he okay?"

"Dekker took him," Serena said. "We tried to stop him, but…"

"Wait," Mike interrupted her, "Dekker's here? He's here; the Nighlok is here… who else is here?"

"Some squid-faced Nighlok," Serena sighed.

"Octoroo," Kevin muttered.

"So, Master Xandred's entire army is here, but Jayden's off with Dekker?" Mike growled in frustration. He knew Jayden hadn't left purposely this time, but his absence never made things easier for Mike or the other Rangers. They looked up to him for guidance and leadership. When he was gone, the team was no better than an army of headless chickens.

"He didn't go by choice," Serena said, "And better Dekker than squid-face."

"What do you mean?" Mia asked.

Serena shrugged her shoulders, "You guys told me Dekker wants Jayden at his best. He's not going to get that unless he takes care of Jayden. That gives us a little more time to find him."

"I guess," Kevin nodded his head but slumped his shoulders forward in defeat, "but what are we going to do in the meantime? Dekker isn't an easy man to find even when he wants to be found."

"What do you mean?" Serena asked.

"He's kidnapped me before," Kevin said. "I know the others wouldn't have ever found me if he didn't let me go. He's a smart man and he keeps learning."

"Then we'll have to trust that Jayden can take care of himself," Antonio stated and all eyes turned to him. He looked back at the team confidently, "I don't like leaving Jayden to fend for himself, but I know my friend. He would do what he always does. He would tell us not to worry about him and stop the Nighlok."

"But we can't leave Jayden," Emily said, "He's the only one of us that can seal Master Xandred away forever. If something happens to him…"

"Do not worry about Jayden," Daisuke gestured to all his servants to stop what they were doing. He pointed to the door and they bowed in respect before heading out.

"What are they going to do?" Mike asked. "No disrespect, dude, but when that Nighlok turned up here, I saw all those guys running for the hills. They wouldn't stand a chance against Dekker, even as a group."

"They will search for Jayden and will report back to me if and when they find him," Daisuke explained. "This will allow you Rangers to focus on defeating that Nighlok."

"They aren't defeating anything," Serena shook her head and placed a hand on Kevin's shoulder when he was about to get up. She could still see they were all in immense pain. Given the numerous visible injuries, as well as the injuries Serena couldn't see, she doubted any of them would last long in a battle against even a single Mooger, never mind a powerful Nighlok.

She looked at the Rangers, "You guys are going to rest. We're screwed enough with Jayden in Dekker's hands; we don't need to lose the entire team."

"What if the Nighlok comes back?" Kevin asked. "We need to be ready."

"I'll take care of him."

"Serena…"

"I don't want to hear it, Emily," Serena said as she gently helped Kevin to his feet, "I'll take you guys to your beds. The more you rest, the faster you'll be back in the game."

-Samurai-

Antonio knew his orders were to rest, but he couldn't bring himself to lie in bed and wait for something to happen. His best friend was missing; kidnapped by the man who wanted a duel to the death and poisoned by the Nighloks. Things weren't looking up for Jayden, or the team.

But Antonio also had a Black Box to worry about. Serena had told him she wasn't going to let them out of bed, especially to fight a Nighlok, but she never said anything about doing research for the Black Box. Now, more than ever, they needed its powers, and he wasn't going to let his team down.

"Are you sure you should be looking through those books?" Mike asked, propping himself up on his elbows as he lay in bed and watched Antonio search the bookcases. Antonio nodded his head.

"What's Daisuke going to do?" Antonio frowned, "Forbid me from brushing up on Samurai history? I know I'm not born into this legacy, but I'm just as much a part of it as you guys… right?"

"Yeah, of course," Mike nodded, "But still, dude, this stuff is like… old… maybe even prehistoric old."

"Perfecto," Antonio smirked. He found the book he needed and pulled it off the shelf. It was covered in a layer of dust and when he blew it off the cloud threatened to suffocate him, but it was exactly what he needed. He walked back to his bed and sat down.

"What did you find?" Mike asked.

"The first red Ranger wrote this," Antonio said as he opened the book carefully. It was old – very old – and threatened to fall apart in his hands. "It's got everything I need to know about… no."

"What?" Mike frowned and leaned closer to Antonio's bed to get a better look at the book. He chuckled slightly, "Dude, do you know Japanese?"

"Not a word," Antonio said, shaking his head in frustration, "Esto va a ser más difícil de lo que pensaba."

"What?"

"Exactly," Antonio muttered. He fell back into his pillow and sighed, "The only thing I know about Japanese are the symbols Jayden taught me. I can't read it, yet."

Mike bit his lip before he looked over to the other bed, where Kevin was sleeping. He turned back to Antonio and smirked.

"You know how we're always making fun of the _proper_ way of doing things?" Mike asked the gold Ranger with a smile. Antonio nodded and Mike flicked his thumb in Kevin's direction, "Well, this is one time where I'm thankful Captain Serious is… well… serious."

"Would he know?"

Mike shrugged his shoulders, "It's worth a shot. I doubt Emily had much time to practice reading Japanese and the last thing we want to do is wake up Mia. Kevin's our best bet."

Antonio nodded his head, "Go for it."

Mike grinned and pushed the blankets off his legs before reaching down for his feet. He suppressed a snigger as he pulled of his sock and carefully held it over Kevin's bed, just above his nose.

"Can't you wake him up like a normal person?" Antonio asked.

Mike shrugged, "I need to be entertained and this is the closest to cable we're ever going to get in this room."

Suddenly Kevin's eyes flew open and his hand shot up, grabbing Mike around the wrist in a painful grip. Mike winced and let go of the sock. It fell on Kevin's face and the blue Ranger sat up.

"You couldn't have woken me up like a normal person?" Kevin groaned as he adjusted himself into a sitting position that wouldn't strain his many injuries.

Mike pulled his wrist from Kevin's hand and shook it, "Ow, dude, no need to be on constant alert."

"Why did you wake me up?" Kevin growled, clearly unhappy he had been woken up, especially given the smell he had woken up to.

Antonio held up his book for Kevin to see, "It's the book the first red Samurai wrote about the Black Box. It's got everything I need to understand how the talisman works but…"

"It's written in Japanese," Kevin nodded while barely glancing at the book. He already knew most of the books in the temple were in Japanese. He had checked them out himself before going to sleep the night before and intended on asking Daisuke if he could borrow a few so he could brush up on ancient Samurai battle techniques that had been forgotten over the years.

"Yeah," Antonio said, "Would you be able to understand it?"

"I'll be able to get the just of it," Kevin nodded. He held his hand out and Antonio passed him the book. "You might want to write down what I tell you. Everything in here is going to be important."

"This sounds like it's going to be boring," Mike rolled over in his bed and dropped his head onto his pillow, "While you guys work on that, I'm going to…"

"Help Antonio by taking your own notes," Kevin tossed Mike's sock back to the green Ranger before Mike could get comfortable. "The more we know, the better off we'll be."

"The more we rest, the faster we'll recover and the better off we'll be," Mike reminded Kevin. "You and Antonio work on that power up. I'll make sure I'm fit for battle by the time that creepy crawly comes back."

-Samurai-

After getting the Rangers settled into their own beds, Serena made her way back to the main room of the temple and found Daisuke sitting on a cushion in the middle of the room. She couldn't tell if he was meditating or simply had his eyes shut, but decided to remain silent either way. She picked up a melting ice pack from the ground and placed it on the table quietly.

Daisuke heard the ice pack hit the table and opened his eyes. He turned to Serena.

"How are your friends?"

"I think they'll live," Serena answered him. She kneeled on the cushion opposite of him and looked up, "I'm just glad I got to them when I did. It's a good thing Mentor Ji told me to come on this little mission."

"It was wise of him to send an extra Samurai," Daisuke nodded his head. "Hopefully you will be able to guard the Gate while your friends recover."

"I'll do whatever it takes," Serena assured him. "The last thing we need Master Xandred going after is the Tengen Gate. There are still so many secrets hidden in here. I'm pretty sure there are some secrets even Mentor Ji doesn't know about."

"Many," Daisuke said. He looked to Serena, "I must apologize once again. I have let your friends down."

"What?" Serena asked. "What do you mean? How did you…?"

"I promised them I would look after Jayden," Daisuke turned away from Serena and fixed his gaze the window where Dekker had left with Jayden, "I was unable to do so."

"Don't worry about it," Serena said gently, "I've never faced Dekker personally, but Emily's told me about him. He's not an easy guy to take out. You probably would have been seriously hurt if you tried to stop Dekker, and as much as the Rangers need Jayden, we need you to protect this gate."

"I am the elder Guardian for a reason, Serena," Daisuke turned back to the young woman, "I have been protecting this Gate for as long as I can remember, and as I grow older, the Nighlok grow stronger."

"What are you saying?" Serena asked.

"I know it wasn't your destiny to become the yellow Ranger," Daisuke said and when he looked away for a moment Serena rolled her eyes. She loved talking with Daisuke, as well as the very few other Samurai Mentors and Guardians she had met in her lifetime, but she hated how they would never answer her questions directly.

"We kind of figured that out back home," Serena nodded. "In fact, I was maybe ten when I figured that out. It's kind of old news for me at this point."

"You weren't destined to become the yellow Ranger, but given your power, it would be a shame to see all that training go to waste."

"Saved my parents a fortune on self-defence courses," Serena shrugged. "I mean, in the city I've seen some big guys, but nothing compares to the guys I've seen who've spend their life working hard in their farm. I needed to know how to protect myself from them when they got drunk."

Daisuke chuckled and placed his staff down before Serena as he got to his feet. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"As I said, I grow old and the Nighlok as becoming more and more powerful. Soon, they will be too much for an old Guardian like me to handle and the Tengen gate will be left unprotected," Serena turned to look up at Daisuke with a frown as he spoke. She saw he was smiling at her, "Maybe you were destined for something else."

"I…" Serena looked down at the staff Daisuke left behind. She picked it up and jumped to her feet, but when she turned to the old Guardian she saw him leave the room.

"Dai… Daisuke?" she called for him but he didn't answer. She looked down at the staff in her hands. "Great… now what?"


	99. Defending the Gate

"Are you sure you should be walking around with that thing?" Emily asked her sister when she saw Serena had Daisuke's stick in her hands. The girls had gotten up the following morning and made their way into the main room for some breakfast. They hadn't eaten since before the Nighlok attack, and it had been a long night of pain and restless slumber for them as they worried not only about the inevitable return of the Nighlok, but also Jayden.

"I'll stop walking around with it when Daisuke shows up," Serena answered her sister while placing a bowl of soup down before the yellow Ranger. She remembered spoiling Emily rotten when her little sister was sick in the _pre-ill days_, as Emily called them, and things hadn't changed now with the exception of four other Rangers that needed taking care of. Serena wanted them at their best quickly, and the only way to do that, at least in her eyes, was to be at their beck-and-call and take good care of them.

She knew Emily's favourite soup and had the servants prepare it exactly like her mother used to. She was happy that Mia seemed to enjoy it as well.

The boys were another matter all together. Serena couldn't tell if they liked the soup because they weren't even up.

Just as she was about to ask the girls if this was normal behaviour, the boys walked into the main room with Antonio and Kevin looking worse than they did the night before. The dragged themselves onto the cushions and stared into the bowls of soup, almost looking as if they were contemplating whether or not the hot soup would make a good pillow.

"What happened to you?" Serena asked them.

"We've been up all night studying," Antonio explained. "Eight hours of translating old writing from Japanese to English and do you know what we have to show for it?"

"Dark circles?" Emily asked

"Puffy eyes?" Mia added.

"Irritable moods," Mike frowned and quickly shifted away from Kevin as the blue Ranger pathetically tried to slap Mike's arm.

"Nothing," Antonio said before the comments on his and Kevin's appearance went any further, "We have nothing to show for all that work."

"You were meant to be resting," Serena sighed.

Mike's hand shot up; "I was!" he smiled to Serena like a little boy waiting to be praised by his mother. Serena simply rolled her eyes.

"You guys aren't going to be feeling better if you stay up all night," she said.

"We got a little sleep," Kevin assured her. "We'll be fine for the day."

"I never thought I would say this to anyone…" Serena shook her head, "You two shouldn't be studying, you should be a little more like Mike."

"Aha," Mike grinned, "I'm the model Samurai."

"We were studying the note the red Ranger took when he designed the Black Box," Antonio explained, hoping this would help Serena and the others understand why they were wearing themselves out. "We figured maybe there would be some kind of clue or something that could help me program it but nothing."

"No one's ever figured that out," Mia reminded Antonio, "That's why we asked you."

"You didn't figure anything out?" Emily asked. "Like… nothing at all?"

"I just know what it's supposed to do," Antonio shrugged. "But that's not really going to help me program it, is it?"

"I guess I'll take a look at the book later," Serena shrugged her shoulders, "There's really nothing else for me to do in this place… except maybe search for Daisuke."

"You mean he's gone too?" Mike asked. He noticed Serena had been walking around with his staff, but only now did it occur to him that he hadn't seen or heard from Daisuke at all since the night before. This was weird, considering this was technically Daisuke's home.

"It's probably nothing," Serena said. She pointed to the bowls of soup, "All of you should finish up and then go back to bed. I know you're trying to hide the pain, but nothing gets past me."

"Nothing does," Emily confirmed with a nod.

-Samurai-

With the Rangers in their rooms resting, the Tengen Gate felt rather lonely, but Serena enjoyed the peace and quiet. Many of the servants had left to search for Jayden, and the few that stayed behind were keeping out of her way.

After years of her parents fussing over her, Serena was happy to be independent. She no longer had her mother or father or Emily checking up on her every hour to make sure she was okay, or to put their own minds at ease. She never liked being the center of attention, and hated it more when she was sick. But here, at the temple, she felt like she was free and strong.

She wandered the grounds of the temple, keeping a close eye on the borders for any signs of the Nighlok or Moogers, or even Dekker and Jayden. She wanted to rush out into the forest and take care of matters herself, but she knew that wasn't wise. It was unlikely she would find Dekker or Jayden, and she couldn't risk hurting herself, not while her sister and friends were still recovering from their last encounter with the Nighlok. Serena knew she was best served waiting for something to happen.

And something did. Just as Serena was about to turn back to the temple to head inside she heard something rustle in the bushes. Quickly, she spun around and was met face to face with a Mooger.

"Shit!" she cried as the Mooger swung at her with his blade, just missing her head by inches as she ducked. She didn't have a sword in her hands to defend herself with, but she was still holding onto Daisuke's staff. Using it just like she would her own sword, she attacked the Moogers, keeping him from getting too close to the temple.

She finished him off quickly but was suddenly surrounded by more as they appeared from little portals that opened up in the ground.

"Really regretting giving up the Samuraizer right now," Serena cried, grabbing a Mooger as it began to make its way to the temple. She slammed the Mooger into the dirt and jumped back as another Mooger swung his sword down. Thankfully for her, it sliced the Mooger instead of her. Breathing a sigh of relief, Serena stepped away from the army of monsters and placed herself between the temple and the Moogers.

"No one's getting anywhere near the Gate!" she cried. "Not while I'm here."

She kicked a Mooger in the chest as it rushed her and grabbed its sword. Finally armed with a proper weapon she attacked the monsters, taking them out with ease. As the last one fell, she looked around.

The Moogers sunk into the dirt and Serena couldn't see anymore monsters nearby. She tossed the Moogers sword to the ground just before it disappeared and smiled.

"Okay, that was pretty awesome," she said, congratulating herself. "No wonder Emy didn't want to go home."

She turned back to the temple and nearly jumped out of her skin when she found Daisuke had been standing behind her. She clutched her chest with her hand and glared at the older man, eyes wide.

"Are you trying to send me back to the hospital?" she asked him. "Don't do that! Especially right after the Moogers turn up."

"My apologies," Daisuke nodded, bowing slightly. "It was not my intention to scare you."

"Where have you been?" Serena asked. "Last night you left without saying goodbye or goodnight or whatever and I haven't seen you all morning."

"I have been around," Daisuke smirked. He placed his hand on Serena's shoulder, "Come. The Rangers should be well rested by now."

"Did you find Jayden?" Serena asked. "Is that where you went? Is he okay?"

"I am afraid there is still no news on Jayden," Daisuke said as he led Serena inside. "However, we have important matters to discuss."


	100. Samurai History

None of the Rangers could rest, even under Serena's orders. They needed to be doing something to defend the Gate, Jayden and the world, but there was nothing they could do. They would fall quickly in their next battle if they didn't rest up, and they knew from experience that they would be unable to find Jayden, if he was even still alive.

So, they focused on what they could do. They had the Black Box in their hands and all the ancient books on the Samurai. Serena had left them a while ago and they hoped she wouldn't come back for another while. Daisuke hadn't shown himself to them since the day before, and the servants were in no position to order any of them around.

The five Rangers sat together in the boys' bedroom, looking over the translated text that had kept Kevin and Antonio awake all night.

"All it says is that we need a lot of symbol power," Antonio sighed.

Mia opened the book she had found that was identical to the one Mentor Ji had showed them back home. She flipped to the page describing the Black Box and pointed to the image.

"Lion, tiger, ape, swordfish, turtle, dragon, squid, bear and beetle," she named off the animals on the page surrounding the image of the Black Box, "We've already got all of their powers with us."

"We're supposed to combine them," Kevin said, shaking his head. "But how can we do that?"

"Can we put them all onto one disk?" Emily asked.

"I'd like to see you try," Kevin sighed. "Besides, if we put them into one disk, we'll only ever be able to use them one at a time."

"That would make for a funny looking Megazord," Mike chuckled before receiving glares from his friends. He shrugged his shoulders and leaned back, "What? I'm just saying…"

"We have to focus," Kevin said. He turned to Antonio, "You don't have any idea, do you?"

"Not one," Antonio sighed. He shook his head as he reached for the Black Box. He held it up and examined it, "We must be missing something."

"What could we possibly be missing?" Kevin gestured to the books that surrounded the Rangers. They were scattered everywhere. The floor, the bed, the table tops, the shelves were all covered with open books. They had their entire history at their fingertips, but were still drawing a blank.

"Maybe there is no answer," Emily suggested. "Mentor did say people tried to get the Box to work, but they've all failed."

"Maybe we should start there," Mia nodded her head with a smile. She grabbed a book from the floor and placed it on her lap, "Kevin and I can read over the different ways the other Samurai have tried to power up the box. You guys can come up with ideas on where they may have gone wrong."

"Like, an alternative to their failed attempts?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah," Mia nodded, "But hopefully the alternative works. We probably don't have much more time."

-Samurai-

"I thought we were going to see the Rangers," Serena said to Daisuke as he led her down a long hallway.

"We will," Daisuke nodded and stopped before a doorway. He turned to Serena with a smile, "But before we do that, I would like to show you something."

"Okay," Serena said hesitantly. She had no choice but to trust Daisuke. He was the elder Guardian of the Tengen Gate which meant he was one of the good guys, but Serena knew there was always something sceptical behind the words: "_I would like to show you something."_

Daisuke smiled at her once again before opening the door and he gestured for Serena to step inside the room first. She did as she was instructed and carefully set foot inside the large room.

"Now I get why the temple is bigger on the outside. You were hiding all this from us."

"You didn't believe there were only a few rooms inside these four walls," Daisuke chuckled.

Serena looked around the room in awe. There were many bookshelves that covered the walls and held important objects like very ancient scrolls, swords, blades, knives, statues and helmets. In the middle of the room was a large table. On the table were worn power disks, old maps and five urns.

Curiously, Serena reached out to touch one of the urns, but Daisuke shook his head.

"It is sacred," he told her, "It contains the remains of your fallen ancestors."

"Literally?" Serena asked. "Like my great-great-great something grandmother is stuffed in this urn for real?"

Daisuke nodded, "She has been resting peacefully since her victory, alongside her friends and teammates."

Serena pulled her hand away and gave the five urns a funny look while Daisuke walked to the bookshelf on the far wall and grabbed a wooden box.

"It's been a while since I have been down here," he said to Serena. She nodded her head.

"I would avoid this place too considering it's the resting place of dead people," she said.

Daisuke chuckled and turned around. He placed the wooden box on the table before Serena and opened it. Serena gasped in awe as she laid eyes on the objects inside.

"Are those…?"

"The original Samuraizers," Daisuke answered. "These are the tools the very first Samurai warriors used to seal away Master Xandred."

"Wait… if the Rangers have their Samuraizers, and you have these ones…"

"They no longer work," Daisuke shook his head, "Not like they used to, at least."

"Can they still cast symbols?" Serena asked.

Daisuke shrugged his shoulders before he reached into the box and pulled out the Samuraizer that belonged to the original yellow Samurai. He placed it in Serena's hands.

"We have never figured that out," he told her. "None of the guardians were ever chosen to be Samurai Rangers. The Samuraizers never belonged to us."

"They've got to do something if you're keeping them here under lock and key," Serena flipped open the Samuraizer and chuckled slightly when she saw it looked a lot like a paint brush. She played with it carefully in her hands.

"We do not want master Xandred or any of the Nighlok getting their hands on them," Daisuke said. "Could you imagine the destruction that would cause?"

"Is it anywhere near as bad as the time mom tried to show Emily how to make an earthquake with her symbol power and our barn took the brunt of… well, Emily?"

"Worse," Daisuke nodded.

"Okay," Serena placed the Samuraizer back in the box, "We'll just leave you in there…"

Daisuke sealed the box once the Samuraizer was returned and he put it back on the shelf. Serena explored the room. She looked at the old artefacts and enjoyed getting the chance to come face to face with her history until a thought occurred to her. She turned to Daisuke.

"Why are you showing me this?" she asked him. "I'm not a Ranger. I'm just here because Mentor Ji gave me a plane ticket, I…"

"I am showing you what you need to protect," Daisuke said. "You did not believe we had this Gate and this Temple built solely for the Black Box, did you?"

"I… I guess not."

"Good luck, Serena," Daisuke smiled before he stepped past her and headed out the room. Serena stared at the table before her, where the old artefacts laid undisturbed.

"Wait a minute," she frowned suddenly, "What do you mean? What do I need to protect? Dai… Daisuke…"

The elderly man was nowhere in sight. Serena groaned and rushed out the door. She turned down the hallway where she and Daisuke had come, but he wasn't there. She looked the other way but it was a dead end.

"Daisuke?" she called again while closing the door to the big room. "Daisuke? Where did you go? C'mon, you're not that fast!"

When she reached the end of the hallway, still with no sign of Daisuke, the pieces fell into place. She turned back and stared at the door.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going home anytime soon?"


	101. The New Guardian

"So, we know what not to do," Mike sighed as he looked at all the notes he, Antonio and Emily had taken while Mia and Kevin translated the many books. He turned to his friends and shook his head, "Sadly, I still don't have a clue as to what we should do."

"Neither do I," Antonio rubbed his head. All this hard work trying to save the world was really taking a toll on him, as well as the rest of the Rangers. They still weren't fully recovered from the battle against the Spider Nighlok, but they were working really hard through the pain. He set his pen and paper down and leaned back into his bed, wincing slightly.

"We can't give up," Emily said, "Jayden's counting on us! We have to save him."

"At this rate, even if we get the Black Box up and running, none of us will be fit enough to use it… whatever it is," Mia told the yellow Ranger. "Maybe Serena was right. Maybe we should just rest. There's nothing more we can do."

"There's got to be," Kevin muttered. He picked up one of the books and started reading it but his vision blurred. He was exhausted, sore, frustrated and stress. Defeated, he placed the book back down and sighed. "I guess a little rest might be best. We're no good to anyone like this."

-Samurai-

Serena searched the ground of the Tengen Gate, hoping she would be able to find Daisuke. She had a funny feeling he was gone for good, but she was hoping that maybe he would be able to give her a straight answer before leaving her and the Tengen Gate unguarded.

He was nowhere inside the temple, that much she knew. She had searched every corner and had even gotten some of the servants to search for him as well.

She looked outside and covered every inch of the Tengen grounds. He couldn't have just vanished into thin air. There had to be some kind of clue as to where he was or what he had gone to do.

"Okay… I give up…" Serena cried out in frustration as she took a seat on the ledge of one of the monuments in the garden. "Daisuke, come out, come out wherever you are!"

No answer. Everything was completely still. Even the light breeze had stopped blowing for a moment. Serena bit her lip and turned to the Gate. She got up and walked over slowly.

"I'm leaving!" she called loudly to anyone that would hear her, particularly Daisuke. "I'm leaving the Tengen Gate. I'm not coming back. Dekker, the Moogers and the Nighloks are still out there, and the Rangers are still sick, but I'm walking away… all these secrets will be… oof!"

Just before she walked under the Gate she bumped into someone. Slowly she turned around and saw Daisuke's main servant standing behind her with a worried look on his face.

"You can't leave," he told her in panic. Serena furrowed her brow and nodded her head.

"Yes, I can."

"But Daisuke is gone," the servant told her. "Who is going to guard the Temple if you leave?"

"That's my question," Serena said. "C'mon, the man couldn't have just walked off… right? He's got to be here somewhere…"

"He is gone," the servant said.

"Gone where?"

"Gone."

Serena glared at the man in brown. She rubbed her temples in frustration.

"Gone is not a place," she muttered.

"You cannot leave the Gate unprotected," the servant told her and gently pushed her back onto the Tengen grounds. "Daisuke has shown you why the Tengen Gate is sacred. It stands where the original Samurai warriors first defeated the Nighlok. It holds many secrets and stories. If it falls, so will the entire Samurai legacy."

"Then why did Daisuke leave it unguarded?" Serena asked him. "As far as I know he's the Guardian. Shouldn't he be the one to, you know, guard it?"

"Daisuke has shown you the Tengen secrets," the servant said, "You are now responsible for the Gate."

"I…" Serena had a feeling that was what this was all about. She knew there had to be a reason why Daisuke had taken her to the room with all the books, the urns and the ancient Samuraizers, but she didn't want to believe he had chosen her to be the next Guardian. He couldn't have! She wasn't qualified… was she?

"It's like you said," the servant said, "Dekker is still out there with the red Ranger. There are Moogers and Nighloks out in the forest. If you leave and they attack, the Tengen Gate will be vulnerable. Even if the Rangers try to fight, they won't be able to hold them off… and if they could, for today… what'll happen when they have to go back home?"

"Daisuke will come back, right?" Serena asked. It was her turn to sound panicked. The servant shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

"I do not think so," he said. He grabbed Serena's arm and pulled her to the monument commemorating the fallen Samurai warriors and their victory against Master Xandred and the Nighlok. "Daisuke has been guarding the Temple from Nighlok for years. He's been the elder guardian since before I was born."

"He's that old?" Serena asked.

The servant nodded his head, "He will not live forever."

Serena turned to the servant, "But I have to get home…" she said, "My parents will wonder where I am… I need to be in the city in case Emily…"

"Your parents and sister will be fine," the servant assured her. "As long as Master Xandred and the Nighlok threaten to flood the Earth, there is nothing more important than protecting the Tengen Gate."

"Fine," Serena sighed as she looked at the monument, "I'll protect this place… but only until Daisuke or some other guardian shows up."

The servant looked like he was about to say something but stopped himself before he did. He smiled at Serena and bowed politely.

"I will go set up your room," he told her before rushing off.

Serena watched him leave and waited until he was inside the Temple before she kicked the monument.

"Stupid Dekker," she grumbled as she headed inside, "he couldn't have just let me die. Now I'm destined for greater things…"

-Samurai-

Mike could feel Emily tossing and turning in his arms. Once he and the others decided to get some sleep, they all agreed to stay in the boys' bedroom. They didn't want to be separated, not while Jayden was still missing, a Nighlok was still roaming and the Black Box was still an unsolved mystery.

There weren't enough beds for the five Rangers, though so they had to double up. Antonio had his bed to himself, while Kevin and Mia shared Kevin's.

Mike and Emily were sleeping in Mike's bed – or, rather, they were trying to sleep. Emily wouldn't stop moving around and it was keeping Mike awake. Finally, he squeezed her gently and kissed the top of her head.

"Get some sleep, Em," he whispered so as not to wake the others. Emily turned over so she was facing Mike and she looked up at him.

"I can't," she sat up in his bed and sighed, "I'm worried."

"We're all worried," Mike told her, "but the best thing we can do right now is…"

"Rest, I know," Emily nodded, "But how can I rest when Jayden's still with Dekker? Do you remember what Dekker did to me when he kidnapped me?"

Mike nodded his head as he too sat up and pulled Emily into his arms once again. He knew she feared Dekker. Given the beating he had given her when he had trained her, Mike couldn't blame Emily. Dekker was ruthless and unpredictable.

"Imagine what he'll do to Jayden," Emily said to Mike. "He wants to duel Jayden, right? He wants the ultimate battle. He's not going to let Jayden go like he did with Kevin, and he's not going to stop to correct Jayden stance and maybe not kill him if he fights back. He is going to kill him!"

"Jayden's a lot tougher than that," Mike tried to calm her but Emily shook her head.

"He's poisoned."

"I know, but it's like Serena said: Dekker wants to fight Jayden at his best. He'll take care of Jayden, which gives us a little more time to find him. Dekker wouldn't let Jayden die before the duel. You know that."

"I'm just worried," Emily sighed as she leaned into Mike. He held her tight and nodded slowly.

"Me too."

There was a knock on the door before it opened and Serena stepped in. Mike quickly let Emily go and scooted as far away from her as possible at a speed that would make Antonio proud had he seen it. The last thing Mike needed right now was to make an enemy out of Serena because she thought he was getting too close to her little sister… in bed.

"We were just…" he started to explain but Serena held her hand up.

"I don't want to know," she shook her head before looking at Emily; "Can we talk?"

"About what?" Emily asked.

"Just follow me," Serena said. Emily looked at Mike before turning back to her sister and nodding. Quietly she got out of bed and followed Serena out of the room.


	102. Motivation For Red

"You're staying?"

Serena winced as Emily raised her voice in horror. She hadn't been sure how her sister would take the news of her becoming the new _"elder" _guardian to the Tengen Gate. Now she knew Emily wouldn't be taking it very well.

"I have to. Daisuke left and…"

"You can't," Emily shook her head and spoke as if her words would change anything. "You're supposed to come back home. I just got you back and…"

"Emily, it's not like we'll never see each other," Serena took her sister's hand, "Besides, until you stop Master Xandred, we wouldn't have seen each other much anyways. It doesn't matter if I'm at home sick, healthy, or here in Japan. You have your Samurai duties, I have mine."

"But after…"

"You'll be free to do as you wish," Serena smiled. "Once you've defeated Master Xandred, hopefully forever, you'll be allowed to do whatever you want, go wherever you want, and see whoever you want."

"But… but…"

"But? But nothing," Serena put on a brave face as she pulled her sister in for a hug. This was no easier for her than it was for Emily but she understood she was needed here at the Tengen Gate. "This won't be forever."

"What if we seal Master Xandred away for good?" Emily asked. "What if we find Jayden, master the seal, and Master Xandred and all the Nighlok are gone. There'll be no one to attack the Gate, right?"

"I… I guess that's how that works," Serena nodded uncertainly.

Emily smiled, "And if there's no one to attack the Gate, it won't need a Guardian. The servants will be able to look after it, right?"

"I… I guess…"

"So, if I… we can stop Master Xandred and keep the Nighlok from coming into our world… you won't need to guard the Tengen Gate. You'll be allowed to come home?" Emily asked her sister hopefully. She knew the Tengen Gate was important and it would need someone to guard it until the end of time, but she wasn't about to lose her sister. Not again. She wanted her family back to the way it was when she was a kid. That was never going to happen with her parents back home and her sister all the way in Japan. At least when Serena was at home sick in bed, she was at home. Japan was too far. Emily felt Serena was better off dead than in Japan for the rest of her life.

"Emily, I'm not sure how this works…"

"You'll come home," Emily bounced excitedly. "I'll make sure of it. We'll stop Master Xandred, I promise."

Serena smiled at her sister's confidence and hugged her once more.

"I know you will, Emy."

-Samurai-

Kevin woke up to a repeated beeping noise that was coming from Antonio's side of the bed. He frowned and lifted his head slowly and glanced over the sleeping Mia.

The noise was, in fact, coming from Antonio. The tech whiz was pressing buttons like mad on his samuraizer and kept looking over at the Black Box resting at the foot of his bed. Carefully, so as not to wake Mia, Kevin sat up and turned to Antonio.

"Did you figure it out?"

"Bullshitting," Antonio shook his head before firing a symbol into the Black Box. Nothing happened and Antonio groaned. His hand went to his head and his breathing was heavy for a moment before Antonio shook it off and started pressing more buttons. Kevin watched as the fisherman repeated the same process, with the same results.

"You're getting nowhere," Kevin stated, trying not to sound pessimistic. Antonio nodded his head.

"I know. But at least I'm trying something," he glanced at the window where the sun was setting. Jayden had now been missing for over a day and Antonio as well as the others were really starting to worry. The Nighlok was also due to return at any moment and the Rangers were no more recovered than when Serena first found them in the forest.

"You're not doing anyone any good," Kevin sighed. "Nothing's happening and you're hurting yourself."

"I can't stop," Antonio fired another symbol at the Black Box but to no avail. He slammed his fists into the bed and let out a scream, waking Mike and Mia. "I can't do it!"

"Dude, sleeping," Mike grunted as he rubbed his eyes.

Mia saw Antonio trying another symbol before he fell over. She jumped up and rushed to his bed. She shook his until he grunted.

"Antonio, stop it," she said sternly. "You need to rest. This is hurting you."

"I figured out how to stop that slimy Nighlok," Antonio grumbled, "I figured out how to save Emily… I can figure out how to start up a stupid Black Box!"

"You have to take it easy, dude," Mike sat up in bed and looked at his friend, "Jayden wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"We'll figure it out as a team," Mia smiled comfortingly as she helped Antonio sit back up in bed. "But you aren't going to save anyone if you hurt yourself, or worse."

"But…"

"We all have to take it easy," Kevin nodded. He looked at each of his friends, "Unless a Nighlok turns up, no one is to get out of bed. Is that understood? Hopefully by tomorrow we'll be feeling well enough to actually do something."

"Sounds like a plan," Mike smiled, leaning back into his pillow.

"You just like it because you get to sleep more," Mia chuckled as she crawled back into bed with Kevin. Mike looked at her and winked.

"I don't see you protesting."

"Shut up, Michael."

"Shut up, Michael," Mike teased before Mia threw her pillow at him. He caught it and hugged it to his chest as he laid back in bed.

Kevin rolled his eyes before he realised a teammate was missing. He turned to Mike.

"Where's Emily?"

-Samurai-

"Boy, you really can sleep anywhere, can't you?" Serena chuckled softly as she draped a blanket over her sister, who had fallen asleep on a few of the cushions that the Rangers used to sit in the main room of the Tengen Gate. She got to her feet slowly with the intention of making a bed for herself. She had a room set up for her elsewhere in the Temple, but she was going to be apart from Emily and the other Rangers for months, maybe years. She wanted to take advantage of the time she had with her little sister before they headed off back home.

Just as she found a few more cushions and blankets, one of the servants walked in and bowed. Serena looked up at him.

"What is it?" she asked, knowing it had to be important. They never bothered her unless it was.

"There's someone outside the Tengen Gate," the servant told her. "We fear it might be a Nighlok, or Dekker."

"And it's my duty to check it out, huh?" Serena asked. She sighed loudly as she got back up.

The servant nodded his head, "You are the elder guardian."

"Twenty-four is not elderly," Serena pouted. "We're going to have to come up with something else to call me. Until I have a grey head, that title isn't going to work."

She stepped past the servant and made her way outside. The grounds were dark, but the forest was darker. Serena gulped as she made her way closer and closer to the border.

"My first visit into the city, I'm so buying a flashlight," she muttered to herself. "One of those super bright ones too. The ones you can see from space…"

She tip-toes closer to the gate and her heart raced, "Yeah, I'm not freaking out at all right now…" she muttered sarcastically.

She heard a twig snapping behind her and quickly spun around only to come face to face with the edge of a sword. Instinctively she kicked her leg up, knocking the sword out of its owner's hand and lunged forward, pinning her attacker to the ground before he could try anything.

"Well done," her attacker commented and Serena's heart froze. She recognised that voice already.

"Dekker?" she suddenly pressed her arm into his neck, "Where is Jayden?"

"You'll never find out if you kill me," Dekker said and Serena could make out a smirk thanks to the light from the moon. She grumbled and pulled her arm away from his neck but remained on top of him.

"I'll ask you again," she growled. "Where is Jayden?"

"He is safe," Dekker said. "That much I promise. However, soon it will be time for our duel, and I must prepare."

"Prepare?" Serena asked. She turned her head to where his sword had fallen. "It's a duel. You have your sword. What else do you need?"

"Something to fight for," Dekker said. He grabbed Serena and she suddenly found herself pinned under Dekker. She struggled to push him off but he was too strong and a little heavy. Giving up, she relaxed and looked up at him once more.

"What, like a prize?" she asked him.

Dekker nodded his head, "Something along those lines," he answered her, "However, it is not for me. I am driven by the challenge itself."

"You're trying to motivate Jayden to fight for his life?"

"I have seen him defend the other Rangers. He fights with a passion and power unlike anything I've seen in centuries. I want him to fight like that in our duel."

"Well, it's kind of do or die," Serena frowned, "I think he'll give it everything he's got to stop you."

"I want more," Dekker said. "He is capable of more, and I'm going to make sure I get it all."

"So what are you going to do?" Serena asked. "Kidnap one of the Rangers and threaten to kill them so Jayden fights to save them?"

"One Ranger is not enough," Dekker nodded. He released his grip on Serena and stood up. He grabbed Urumasa from the ground and stared at the blade.

Serena looked back at the Tengen Gate and her eyes widened.

"You're going after all of them?"

"They are still weak, are they not?" Dekker put Urumasa back in its scabbard for now and turned to the Gate, "They cannot protect themselves. It is the perfect time to…"

Dekker was interrupted by a blow to the face that sent him right back to the ground. He could feel the blood rushing to the side of his face as it throbbed in pain. He looked up and saw and angry Serena glaring down at him.

"Touch any of them…"

"I do not intend to harm them," Dekker assured her. "If all goes well, they will be returned to you and their Mentor by sunset tomorrow."

"If all goes well?" Serena shouted, "You're a mad-man! You're not going to spare their lives once you're done with Jayden! You'll kill them all!"

"I am not a murderer."

"Uh, deranged man walks around with a sharp sword and wants nothing more than to kill the guy in charge of sealing away Earth's biggest threat? I'm sorry, you're right. You're not a murderer; you're mad, psychotic, and bloodthirsty! Is that better?"

"Hardly," Dekker turned away from Serena and faced the Tengen Gate. "If you know what's good for you, you won't get in my way. Urumasa can easily take back what was given to you."

"I would gladly die before I let you go anywhere near my friends," Serena barked.

Dekker smirked when he heard this. It wasn't the first time a Samurai had made that statement. They all cared for each other, and he hoped he could use that to his advantage.

"You would do anything for them?" he asked while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Take one more step and you'll have your answer," Serena growled.

"I can only hope they would do the same for you," Dekker turned back to Serena with a smile. "The Gate is guarded. You stand in my way, as do the servants and the Rangers. It would take a lot of effort to take them all. Effort that would best be used in my battle against Red Ranger."

"What are you…?"

Serena never finished her question as Dekker smashed his fist into the side of her head and she fell to the ground. He picked her up in a bridal carry and headed back to his camp to await the other Rangers.


	103. Preparing the Duel

"Back so soon?" Jayden asked with a groan when he saw Dekker walking into the cave carrying one of his friends. He had no idea who Dekker brought back with him but the warrior had been open and honest about everything. He had told Jayden his plan to kidnap the other Rangers and use their safety as a way to motivate Jayden to give the battle with Dekker his all. Jayden didn't want to see any of his friends getting hurt, nor did he want Dekker to kidnap even one of them, but he was still too weak from the poison to do anything about it. Right now, Dekker could do as he pleased.

When Dekker had taken Jayden from the Tengen Gate he had dropped him in a river, where the water would cure him of his poison. It had worked; Jayden felt much better, but it would take a while for the weariness and weakness to leave his body and for him to return to full strength. In that time, he was at Dekker's mercy.

Dekker approached the fire he had started to keep Jayden warm and laid the body down gently. He was taking much more care of his kidnapped victim than he was of Jayden, whom he had dropped carelessly into the water while he was still sick and unconscious.

"Who did you bring?" Jayden asked, looking over the flames of the fire. It was hard for him to see who Dekker had taken exactly, with the darkness of the cave and the shadows bouncing on his victim's face, but he from what Jayden could tell, and from what he knew of Dekker's plan, it looked like he had taken Emily.

However, the longer Jayden looked at Emily, the more he realised it wasn't her. Suddenly, he gasped.

"No!"

"What?" Dekker asked as he pulled out his sword. Jayden knew he spent most of his time staring at his blade. Sometimes he would talk to the sword as if it was another human being. "Do you not care for the yellow Ranger's sister?"

"Of course I do," Jayden nodded, "It's just… you can't! She's not part of this! Leave her out of it!"

"She is part of this, red Ranger," Dekker smiled. "She will lure the other Rangers here while you and I rest up for our duel."

"Why are you doing all this?" Jayden asked.

Dekker gave him a knowing look, "I do this for the duel."

"I don't fight just to fight," Jayden stated. "I fight to protect people."

"I know," Dekker nodded and gestured to Serena. "This is why I brought her here. This is why I want the other Rangers to be here. If you don't fight me, I will not hesitate to kill them all."

"Why do you want a duel so badly?" Jayden asked. "Why me?"

"I was once fully human," Dekker explained to Jayden, "but all I know now is a constant craving for battle. The Nighlok in me gives me no choice about it."

"You always have a choice," Jayden said. He sat up and leaned against a rock so he could look at Dekker, "You don't have to give into the Nighlok's cravings. You can choose not to fight."

"You will give me the ultimate battle!" Dekker shouted as he leaned in closer to Jayden, "Whether you like it or not, we will fight! It's the only way I'll be free from this curse!"

-Samurai-

Emily was aroused from her sleep by a pair of strong hands grabbing her arms and shaking her. She groaned and yawned as she rolled over and looked up. One of the servants was standing over her with a worried look.

"Yellow Ranger, your sister has not returned," the servant told her.

Emily frowned. She sat up and looked around. She remembered falling asleep in the main room with her sister by her sister, but she couldn't remember Serena ever leaving.

"Where did she go?"

"As Guardian it is her duty to protect the Gate from all possible intruders," the servant said. "We asked her to investigate a possible threat and she hasn't come back. It's been hours."

"Hours?" Emily squeaked nervously. The servant nodded.

"A Guardian has never gone missing before," he said. "What do we do?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "I… I don't know. I…"

Emily threw off her blanket and jumped to her feet. She raced to the boys' bedroom with the servant right on her trail. She opened the door and it hit the wall with a thud, waking the other Rangers.

"Serena's missing."

Her friends snapped out of their sleep and jumped up almost as quickly as Emily had when she first heard the news.

"What do you mean, missing?" Kevin asked while Mike walked over to Emily and took her hand comfortingly.

"I don't know. Location unknown… what else could it mean?" Emily shrugged her shoulders. "She was doing her guardian thing and…"

"Guardian… what?"

"I'll explain later," Emily was bouncing, anxious to start a search party for her sister, terrified she was going to lose her idol. "We have to find her! We have to…"

"You cannot leave the Gate unguarded," the servant reminded Emily, "You cannot all go…"

"Antonio, you stay behind," Kevin turned to the Gold Ranger, "Guard the Gate and work on figuring out the Black Box. Mia, Mike, Emily and I will go find Serena, wherever she is."

"She'll be fine," Mia assured Emily as she crawled out of bed, ignoring her pain. She figured they had sat on their butts for far too long. Jayden was kidnapped and Serena was missing. It was about time they stopped acting like children and started fighting back.

"I hope so," Emily nodded.

"Wherever she went, she can't be far. She wouldn't have walked too far from the Tengen Gate."

"Are you sure?" Emily asked the servant. He nodded his head.

"Her duty is to the Gate, not the surrounding forest," he said, "She wouldn't have let herself go far."

"Unless she didn't go by choice," Mike growled and squeezed Emily's hand a little tighter, knowing she wouldn't want to hear this, "I bet you it's Dekker. That guy is always up to something."

Emily's eyes widened. She tugged on Mike's hand.

"Hurry up!" she called to her friends while pulling Mike out the door, "We have to find her! Hurry!"

"Ow, Em, that hurts!" Mike whined as he was dragged from the room. Mia was right behind him.

Kevin turned to Antonio, "We trust you. Guard the Gate, figure out the box."

"I'll do my best, amigo," Antonio saluted Kevin as the blue Ranger followed the others. He turned to the night table, where the Black Box was sitting. "I will figure you out… hopefully soon…"


	104. No Choice

Jayden was pulled from his sleep by a scream and he looked up to see Dekker throwing Serena into the ground. He jumped up to his feet and hurried over to catch her just before she hit the dirt.

He set her down gently and looked up at Dekker.

"What are you doing?"

"She's trying to leave," Dekker stated with a shrug in his shoulders. "I will not allow it."

"I've had enough of you," Serena growled as she too got to her feet. She stood strong beside Jayden and it made him feel better to know Dekker didn't intimidate Serena like he did the others. She was brave when she faced him. Hopefully it would make his duel against Dekker a little easier.

"Your friends should be here soon," Dekker looked over his shoulder to the entrance of the cave where the sun was coming through, indicating it was well into the morning. "Our duel will start then," he turned back to Jayden. The red Ranger scoffed.

"We are not fighting," he said. "I don't care about that curse of yours. I don't care about you, Dekker. Leave me and my friends out of this."

"I have done a lot for you Rangers," Dekker reminded Jayden. He pulled out Urumasa. "I have saved you a number of times…"

"We never asked for your help," Jayden said. "We don't owe you anything! We have bigger problems to worry about."

"I know how to make you fight, red Ranger," Dekker held up his sword and pointed it to Serena's throat. She took a step back, but he followed her.

"This cave has no exit," he told her with a smirk, "Sooner or later you will be backed into a corner."

"This is hardly a fair fight," Serena glared at her enemy, "I'm unarmed."

"It is not you I want to fight," Dekker reminded her before looking over at Jayden.

Jayden looked at Dekker for a moment before he shook his head, "You won't hurt her. You know that if you hurt her I'll have nothing to fight for."

Dekker didn't say anything. He simply smirked before swinging Urumasa. Serena yelped in pain and fell to her knees, clutching her side.

Jayden's muscles tensed and he was about to lunge at Dekker but a yellow power symbol stopped him. It slammed into Dekker's back and he staggered forward over Serena. Jayden's eyes widened as he realised what this meant.

"No…"

"Get away from them!" Kevin shouted as he, Mia, Mike and Emily stood at the entrance of the cave, clearly pissed off.

Dekker chuckled as he moved away from Jayden and Serena. Once the path to her sister was clear, Emily bolted over and dropped beside Serena while the others tried to get between Dekker and Jayden and Serena.

"Are you okay?"

"Run," Serena whispered to Emily as the yellow Ranger tried to inspect her wound. Emily shook her head.

"No, I…"

"Give me your Samuraizer and run," Serena ordered her little sister. "I'll think of something to stop Dekker."

"No, Serena…"

Serena ripped the Samuraizer from Emily's hand and shoved her sister to the ground. Angrily, she looked down at Emily.

"Get out, now!" she demanded. Emily looked up in horror. She had seen this side of her sister before, but this anger had never been directed at her. Only at the bullies who used to tease her. Fearful of what might happen if she didn't listen to her sister, Emily got back to her feet and stepped away.

"Trust me," Serena mouthed to Emily, "Run. Take someone with you and go."

Emily nodded uncertainly and ran to the entrance of the cave. Dekker saw her trying to leave and chased after her. He didn't want anyone thinking they could leave. Not when he was so close to his duel with the red Ranger.

However, no matter how strong he was, he was still outnumbered. Before he could get anywhere near Emily's fleeing form, Mike challenged him. Using his symbol power, he called up a root from the underground and it tripped Dekker. He jumped on top of the warrior before Dekker could get up, hoping this would buy Emily enough time to get away.

Dekker didn't like how one of the Rangers managed to escape, but he could still make his plan work.

"You idiot," he whispered to Mike as he reached for Urumasa and attacked. Mike rolled off him and prepared for battle, morphing quickly. Kevin was only a step behind him and joined the green Ranger, hoping to keep Dekker away from his friends.

Mia turned and looked over at Serena, curious as to why Emily would run away when he sister was clearly hurt. Even from where she was standing, which was a few feet away from Serena, she could see the blood trickling through Serena's fingers. She worried for the former yellow, but her worry grew when she saw Emily's Samuraizer in Serena's hand.

"Oh shit," she breathed and turned to the entrance. Emily was alone in the forest without any way to protect herself. It was a far run back to the Tengen Gate and Emily would be lucky if she made it back in one piece with the Nighlok and Moogers possibly roaming through the forest.

She whipped out her Samuraizer and traced her Kanji for Wind in the air. She blasted it at Dekker and he was blown into the wall of the cave, giving Mia enough time to go after Emily.

Dekker growled as he watched her leave. He dropped back to his feet as her symbol faded and turned in her direction but Kevin stood in his way.

"You're not going anywhere," he said.

Dekker looked around the cave. He still had his target, the red Ranger, but he only had three of his friends. He needed to get his plan into action before any more of them got away.

He saw Mike rushing at him angrily and smirked. He stepped aside at the last minute and grabbed Mike by the back of the neck. He lifted the green Ranger and threw him into the wall.

"No!" Jayden shouted as Mike slumped to the ground. He pulled out his Samuraizer and looked at Kevin, "Get out of here, Kevin!"

Dekker responded before Kevin could make a move. He grabbed the blue Ranger and held his sword to Kevin's throat.

"I want our duel," he told Jayden. "Either it happens now or I kill every one of your friends in this cave. One by one."

Jayden froze and his Samuraizer nearly dropped from his hand. He looked over at Serena. She was injured and would be unable to protect herself from Dekker. At least, not for long. She didn't stand a chance against him in her state.

He turned his gaze to Mike who still hadn't moved from where he had landed. It was obvious he was completely useless in a battle against Dekker.

He then looked at Kevin who was at Dekker's mercy. One wrong move and the blue Ranger was dead.

Jayden knew what this meant. He had no choice. He would never let anything hurt his friends, least of all Dekker. If he wanted to save them, he was going to have to fight.

"Well?" Dekker pressed Jayden for an answer as Jayden thought it over one last time, looking for any way out. He pressed the blade lightly into Kevin's neck, drawing blood. "You know me well enough by now, red Ranger. You should know I will not hesitate to kill your friends. Nor will I forget about the two who got away. It's your choice."

Jayden nodded and morphed, "Fine. We'll duel."

-Samurai-

"C'mon," Antonio groaned loudly in frustration as he glared at the Black Box and his Samurai Morpher, "Art of bullshit, why do you choose now to fail me?"

With the others in search of Serena, Antonio had been left to guard the Tengen Gate. Seeing as there was nothing threatening the Gate at this moment, Antonio was going to focus on getting the Black Box up and running. Hopefully he could figure it out and hopefully it would be in time to help his friends. All of them.

He tried all the symbols he knew. Nothing worked on the Black Box.

"This would be a lot easier if I had the other Rangers' Symbols handy," he muttered to himself. He had tried to recreate them while they had been gone, but nothing ever worked like the original. Still, he couldn't give up. They were all counting on him.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Antonio worried he had been so consumed in the Black Box he forgot to guard the Gate. He was both relieved, and equally worried, when he saw Mia and Emily had returned.

"We need help," they told him.

Antonio looked at the Box, "But I'm…"

"We found Serena," Emily said.

"And Dekker, and Jayden," Mia added. Antonio turned to the girls, eyes wide.

"What? But…"

"Forget the Black Box!" Emily grabbed his arm and tugged, "We won't be able to use it at all if the others die!"

Antonio sighed and nodded, "I guess you're right, chica," he said, "but the Gate."

"But my sister!" Emily reminded him.

"And Jayden," Mia added.

Antonio didn't need any more convincing. He nodded his head.

"Where are they?"


	105. Jayden's Rescue

The sound of metal clashing echoed in the cave as Jayden put everything he had into this duel with Dekker. He wanted to keep his friends safe, and the only way he could ensure their safety was to defeat Dekker once and for all. His Ranger suit was protecting him from lethal blows for now, but he had been duelling with the mad warrior for what felt like hours (he had lost track of time, choosing to keep his focus on the battle instead of the time), he was certain his Ranger powers would fail him soon and he would be left on his own.

"Jayden, let me help…"

"No!" Jayden shouted to Kevin as he tried, unsuccessfully, to disarm Dekker. Quickly, he turned to look at Kevin, "Take care of Mike and Serena. This is my battle!"

"The red Ranger is right," Dekker said with a smirk, though no one could tell because he was in his Nighlok form and, unlike Jayden, he would be powered up for a long time still. He had trained centuries for this, and his endurance was remarkable.

"Don't talk to him," Jayden swung wildly at Dekker. He wanted to protect his friends from everything, and it angered him that Dekker would even look at Kevin, never mind speak with him. Dekker blocked all of Jayden's swings before landing one of his own. Jayden bit his lip, trying hard not to scream as the power left him and he fell to his hands and knees.

As he caught his breath he looked up, wondering if Dekker would finish him off now. He wouldn't let the warrior win, but there wasn't much he could do in this moment to stop Dekker from doing as he pleased.

He was slightly surprised when Dekker returned back to his human form. The man looked down at the red Ranger with a disappointed look.

"I imagined this going on for much longer," he said.

"To be fair, you didn't give me much time to warm up," Jayden snapped, hoping it would buy him a little more time.

Dekker lowered his sword to Jayden's head, "Should I kill you now, or should we keep going?"

He eyed the red Ranger for a moment while Jayden tried to get back to his feet. He made his decision without Jayden's help as he pushed the red Ranger aside and walked over to the others.

"Which one should I kill first, then?" he asked himself as he ran his fingers along his sword. He saw Kevin shift slightly so he was between Mike, Serena and Dekker. The mad warrior smirked, "Well, it looks like we have a volunteer."

"Leave him alone!" Dekker heard Jayden yell and he jumped aside just in time to avoid being sliced in half by Jayden's sword. He grinned with pride, knowing the duel, and his fun, would continue.

As Kevin watched on with worry he felt someone tug his shirt. Mike was awake but too sore to move so he turned to Serena.

"Cover me," she whispered so Dekker and Jayden wouldn't hear.

"What are you..?" Kevin looked down where Serena was still bleeding from her side, just above her waist. He shook his head, "You're not doing anything."

"I have a plan."

"To get killed?"

"Trust me," Serena nodded and smirked, "I'm a Guardian now. I'm automatically crazy and always somehow right. This should work."

Knowing there was nothing else he could do, Kevin nodded and moved slightly so he was covering Serena. She held up Emily's Samuraizer behind his back, out of sight for Jayden and Dekker and traced a symbol.

Mike looked up from the ground in time to see this. He wasn't too familiar with the Earth symbols, but he had seen Emily practicing some back at home and he recognised this one. It was either earthquake or rockslide. Considering he and his friends were trapped inside a cave, he didn't like either option and hoped he was completely off base.

"What are you doing?" he whispered just before Serena could activate the symbol. She turned to him.

"Good morning," she smiled. "You might want to cover your head. Kevin, that goes for you too."

"What?" Kevin glanced over his shoulder and Serena spun the symbol. Nothing happened.

"You suck," Mike commented. Serena held up a hand.

"Wait for it…"

Still nothing.

Suddenly, three figures appeared at the entrance of the cave and one bolted forward quickly, knocking Dekker away from Jayden and slamming him into the dirt.

"Nobody hurts my friend!" Antonio called, now fully morphed. He drove his fist into Dekker's face and as the warrior went to attack to defend himself, Antonio kicked Urumasa from his hand.

Mike looked at Serena as Emily and Mia rushed to their aid.

"You summoned them?" he asked.

"I said wait for it," Serena snapped. "Dekker wants to fight Jayden at his best. Everyone knows that. He'll stop this duel if he can't get it."

"What did you do?" Emily asked her sister as she grabbed her Samuraizer back and saw a symbol had been used.

Emily's question was answered when the ground started to rumble and dirt and small stones fell from the top of the cave. All eyes looked up in horror.

"Are you kidding me?" Jayden muttered.

Antonio jumped off of Dekker and ran to his best friend's side, helping him up.

"We have to get out of here!" he said.

Dekker got to his feet and rushed to the entrance of the cave.

"No one's leaving," he shouted. A little earthquake didn't scare him. Nothing would. He was going to finish this duel with the red Ranger no matter what happened in this cave.

"We have to get out of here!" Mia told him as she helped Kevin to his feet. "If we don't, we're all going to die. Jayden included."

"I…" Dekker looked up as the earthquake's power grew and larger debris was starting to fall from the top of the cave. Suddenly, he regretted drawing two earth Samurais right into their element.

He knew Mia was right. He could continue the duel inside the cave, but with the rate things were falling, he knew it was likely one of them would strike Jayden before the duel would end. If whatever hit Jayden didn't kill him, it would certainly weaken him. Dekker didn't want to win that way. He would rather lose to the red Ranger than win because a rock hit Jayden over the head and he lost consciousness or died.

But he wasn't done yet…

He lowered his head and his sword, "Go."

"You don't need to tell me twice," Antonio said as he pulled Jayden from the cave. Larger rocks began to fall and the last thing he wanted was a red and gold pancake. When he and Jayden were safely out of the cave he turned and smiled as Mia and Kevin made it out safely. Mike, Emily and Serena were right behind them.

Dekker, standing at the entrance, watched as the cave slowly caved in on itself. It was only a matter of time before it was just a mountain of large boulders rather than a battlefield. But just because he had let the Rangers get to safety, didn't mean his duel was over. After all, the forest was just as good for a battle as the inside of a cave.

He turned swiftly to attack, not caring if he hit the red Ranger or one of the others, but instead he was met with someone powerfully tackling him back into the cave as the entrance caved in on top of him and whoever jumped him.

"That explains the crazy part…" Kevin muttered in complete shock. He was scolded by a slap to the chest and a pointed look from Mia.

"Serena!" Emily shouted as she dove forward but was stopped by a pair of strong arms as they wrapped themselves around her waist and held her back. She struggled to break free as she grabbed the arms and tried to rip them off, but Mike held her tightly.

"You can't! Dekker might still be alive."

"No!" Emily turned around and started beating his chest. Mike moved his arms so he was hugging her comfortingly instead of holding her back.

"I want to save her just as much as you do," he assured her, "but if Dekker's still in there… we can't risk it. We have to get Jayden back first."

"But…"

"You and I will come back later, promise," Mike whispered just so she would hear as the other Rangers walked over. She nodded into his chest.

"Dekker would have survived that," Jayden stated as he stared at what was once a cave. "He wouldn't go out that easily. Serena bought us time. We have to use it to get out of here."

"I wouldn't want her to die in vain," Emily nodded sadly. Without leaving Mike's side she walked off with the others, but not without casting a quick glance over her shoulder. She was startled when she saw Kevin was walking behind her.

"She's tough, Em," he smiled gently and placed a soft hand on her shoulder, "tough and smart. She'll figure it out."

"Thanks," Emily whispered and turned back to Mike.

Back at the cave-in, Dekker stirred and looked around. Rocks and dirt surrounded him and his attacker and he could feel the pressure of the stones pressing down into his back. Somewhere in the fall, his attacker had spun them both so he would land on top and take most of the hit. It was a smart move on their part. It kept them as shielded as possible with minimal risks, considering Dekker was immortal.

He pushed himself up and the rocks on his back slowly slipped off. His muscles ached, but he would be fine in a few hours. As he sat up, he looked down, hoping it was one of the Rangers who had jumped him. At least that way he would have finished one of them off.

He groaned when he saw it wasn't. It was the yellow Ranger's sister.

"You frustrate me," he muttered as he pulled her from her rocky tomb. She let out a pained groaned as he moved her, letting him know she was alive. Dekker now found himself with a choice. He could get rid of her here and now and kill her, or he could save her.

He didn't particularly care either way. If he let her die, she wouldn't ever keep him from his duel with the red Ranger again. He knew if he saved her she would continue to put herself in harm's way for the Rangers. She was just like them, and almost exactly like the red Ranger in that sense. And the fact that she was related by blood to a Ranger made her protective instincts much stronger. Killing her now would be easy and convenient for him.

But she intrigued him. Unlike most of the Rangers, she didn't fear him, nor did he get the feeling that she hated him. Yellow feared him. Blue both feared and hated him. Green obviously hated him. He could see it every time he looked into Green's eyes. Pink… he couldn't read her as well as the others, but given how much he had hurt her friends, he was certain he had crossed a line with her long ago.

Nevertheless, the yellow Ranger's sister wasn't scared of him. Maybe it had something to do with fact that he had saved her life. Or, maybe she was just too stupid to fear him. But she was the only one, aside from the red Ranger, who wasn't scared when she was in his presence. If anything, she was stronger.

He got to his feet and picked up Urumasa. He put his sword away, knowing there was no reason to have it out now. He turned back to the yellow Ranger's sister and sighed as he gently lifted her into his arms, careful not to aggravate her injuries.


	106. Going Home

Mia was up late that night, packing not only her bags, but Emily's as well. When they all came home from the duel with Dekker, Jayden had deemed it was time they head home, but they put the Tengen Gate in anymore danger. He figured the best way to keep it safe now was to stay away. Dekker wanted nothing more than to duel him, and seemed to have no interest in anything that had to do with the Samurai. Master Xandred, Jayden believed, wanted the red Ranger defeated as well, and would follow him, and the other Rangers, back to the United States, allowing the Gate to sit in peace, hopefully until another Guardian returned.

As expected, Emily didn't want to leave until they found her sister, but she didn't have much say in the matter. Jayden was pulling rank and forcing her to head home. That didn't mean he didn't care for Serena; he was worried for her, but she had done what she had done to ensure the safety of everyone and right now, the safest place for the Rangers was back at home on familiar grounds with a Mentor who could look after them.

Emily wasn't going to disobey her leader, but she wasn't making things easy. All day she refused to pack her bags, which was why Mia was staying up late to do it now. She believed Emily to be asleep and didn't want the yellow Ranger to leave anything behind in Japan.

Kevin walked up behind her as she stuffed the last of Emily's things in the yellow bag. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder.

"She's going to hate us if she never hears from her sister," he whispered.

Mia nodded, "She'll hate us no matter what if we walk away. Next time we see Dekker, she's going to have a lot of questions for him."

"For his sake, I hope Serena did kill him," Kevin muttered. "Still, all things considered I think we can call that a victory. Dekker's gone, Jayden's back, we have the Black Box and we're headed home before anything else happens."

"You're lucky Emily, Antonio and I showed up when we did," Mia smirked as she turned to face Kevin. "Things looked pretty bad when we got to the cave."

"I wish I could say otherwise, but Jayden was getting his ass kicked and Serena, Mike and I couldn't do anything to help. They were hurt and he didn't let me jump in."

"Maybe Jayden wasn't ready for the duel like Dekker thought," Mia pondered. "For some reason, I imagined it being a lot more epic."

"Well, if Dekker did live," Kevin leaned forward and knocked on the wooden table, "We can expect another duel. You'll get your legendary battle then."

"Can he wait until after we defeat Master Xandred, though?" Mia sighed. She rested her head against Kevin's chest as she snuggled into him, "Two villains at once are too much to handle."

"I…" Kevin stopped when he heard a floorboard creak. He looked down at Mia, who was looking back up at him, "What was…?"

Mia glanced over his shoulder at Mike's bed, where both he and Emily were supposed to be sleeping but they were gone.

"Three guesses," she whispered in Kevin's ear before he had the chance to look. "First two don't count."

"Emily…"

"And Mike," Mia nodded.

Kevin turned to go after them but Mia held him back.

"Let them go. This needs to be done."

Kevin sighed in defeat and nodded his head, knowing she was right. It would torture everyone, especially Emily, if they left before figuring out what had happened to Serena. At least this way, for better or worse, they could get some type of closure before they boarded the plane back home.

As they were about to crawl back into bed for some much needed rest, Jayden's head rose.

"Did you guys hear something?" he asked blue and pink. The couple exchanged a look before simultaneously shaking their heads.

"Subtlety kind of gets thrown out the window with creaky floorboards," Kevin said. "Mia and I were just…"

"I don't want to know," Jayden shook his head before rolling over and going back to sleep.

Mia turned to her boyfriend, a little surprise he, of all people, would lie to Jayden.

"You…"

"One secret won't kill him," Kevin smirked as he laid down in his bed and pulled Mia with him.

-Samurai-

Mike leaned against a tree, arms crossed, as he watched his girlfriend fire symbol after symbol to clear the rocks that had made a tomb around her sister and hopefully Dekker. They hadn't been at the cave-in for long, but Emily had almost cleared her way through to the ground, still with no sign of her sister or the warrior she had tried to kill. With every rock she blasted away, Mike could see she was getting more and more frustrated and he couldn't blame her. Serena meant almost everything to Emily and her death, no matter the circumstance, would always be hard to take.

"Emily…" he called her name softly when the symbols ceased for a moment. It was late at night; she was already sore and was no doubt exhausted after using so much symbol power. He stood up straight, "she's not here."

"She has to be!" Emily screamed, firing another symbol, clearing away another layer of rocks but still she didn't find her sister or Dekker. She let out a frustrated cry and chucked her Samuraizer towards the rocks, almost hoping it would shatter to pieces as she burst into tears and fell to her knees. Within seconds Mike had her wrapped in his arms.

"She's not here," he repeated gently, stroking her hair as he rubbed circles on her back, "Maybe that's a good thing."

"How?" Emily sobbed.

"Maybe she found a way out?" Mike suggested. "Maybe she was never trapped… maybe…"

"Maybe isn't good enough!" Emily screamed as she tried to shove Mike away. He didn't move. She needed him and he wasn't about to let her down. "I need her! The Tengen Gate needs her! She can't be gone!"

"If she's alive, she'll figure it out," Mike assured her. "She'll go back to the Temple, no doubt. We'll leave a message with one of the servants. We won't let her go."

"I can't leave," Emily muttered, falling onto her butt. She played with the dirt from the ground, trying to keep more tears from falling. "I hate him."

"We all hate Dekker," Mike nodded but Emily shook her head.

"I hate Jayden. I hate Jayden, I hate Antonio, I hate Kevin and I hate Mia… they can't walk away!"

Mike winced slightly. He understood what she was trying to say, but he didn't like hearing how she hated all her friends.

"Hate's a strong word…"

"So?"

"So…" Mike shrugged and took her hands, "They aren't doing this because they want to. They're doing it because…"

"Because what, Mike?" Emily snapped. "Because they're homesick? They can go home if they want. I'm staying."

"No, you're not," Mike shook his head. "You're going home with them… with me…"

"But…"

"Only after we've searched every inch of this forest for your sister," Mike finished with a smile. He got to his feet and held out a hand for Emily. "We'll give it everything we've got. We can sleep on the plane."

Emily looked up at him, her eyes brimmed with tears. She took his hand and he helped her to her feet.

-Samurai-

Kevin tapped his foot as he stood in the main room of the Tengen Temple, waiting for Mike and Emily to turn up while Mia distracted Jayden and Antonio by having them search every room of the Temple to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything.

"C'mon, you two," he checked his watch, "This is the first and last time I ever cover for either of you… if you don't turn up…"

Finally the door opened and Mike walked in. Kevin sighed in relief.

"What took you so long?" he asked. Mike looked a little surprised to see Kevin waiting for him.

"How did you…?"

"Floorboards," Kevin answered, "Don't worry about it. Jayden and Antonio have no idea. Mia's keeping them busy."

"O-okay…"

"Where's Emily?"

"I put her in the car," Mike pointed over his shoulder. Kevin could see the servants as they prepared the car for the trip to the airport. None of the Rangers felt like walking all the way back to the airport and were thankful when the servants offered to drive them. The servants weren't thrilled that the Rangers were leaving while the Tengen Guardian was still missing, but Jayden promised the Gate would be safe from Master Xandred and Dekker.

"Did you find Serena?" Kevin asked.

Mike shook his head, "We couldn't find her anywhere," he said. "She wasn't at the cave-in and we searched the forest until Emily passed out."

"She's going to hate us when she wakes up and we're at the airport."

"She already hates you," Mike sighed. "I did everything I could, even after she fell asleep."

"I'm sure if Serena's out there she'll find her way back," Kevin nodded. "We'll just have to trust that everything worked out."

"Mia, we've searched almost every room of the Temple," Antonio sighed, interrupting Mike and Kevin's conversation as he walked into the main room with Jayden and Mia, "Even some rooms we've never been in. I think we've got everything."

Mia spotted Mike and sighed in relief. She turned to Antonio, "I guess you're right. Sorry, I just wanted to make sure."

"It doesn't hurt to be safe," Jayden nodded before he turned to Mike, "Where have you been all morning?"

"Emily couldn't sleep," Mike lied professionally, though it was partly true, "I took her to the gardens. Sorry, we didn't have time to pack her stuff…"

"I got it," Mia smiled. She handed Mike Emily's yellow bag. He took it from her and threw it over his shoulder. "All her stuff is in there. I made sure."

"Three times," Antonio grumbled as he lifted his bag over his shoulder. He turned to the door and saw the car. His hand shot into the air, "Shotgun!"

"What?" Jayden frowned. Antonio turned to his best friend with a playful smirk.

"You didn't think I was going to let you sit in the front while I was squished in the back with either Kevin and Mia or Mike and Emily? Talk about awkward ride home."

"You can't just…" Jayden glared at Antonio, "I'm the red Ranger. I should…"

"I already called it," Antonio chuckled and before Jayden could protest further he raced out to the car.

Jayden rolled his eyes and grabbed his bag as he led the team out to the car. Mike stayed behind and turned to one of the servants. It was the one who had always been by Daisuke's side and, lately, Serena's.

"Email, write, or send a pigeon to me once a month," he demanded, "I don't care how you do it. I want to know if you hear anything from Serena."

The servant bowed, "We anxiously await her return. You can count on me to keep you and the other Rangers in the loop while the Temple is left unguarded."

"I don't care about the Tengen Gate, the secrets or the disaster it could bring," Mike said, "All I care about is whether or not my girlfriend's sister is alive and well. It would kill her if she was left to wonder."

Again, the servant bowed, "I will keep you informed."

"Good," Mike grabbed his bag and left. The servant stepped out of the Temple and watched as he climbed into the car with the other Rangers. As they drove away he worried. He trusted the red Ranger was right, and that Master Xandred wouldn't attack the Tengen Gate while they were home, but he wouldn't feel safe again until the Guardian returned.


	107. Guilt and Grief

Mentor Ji smiled when he heard the door opening. Jayden had called him from Japan just before their flight took off to let him know they were on their way home, which gave him enough time to send the back-up Rangers home before the Samurai returned. He hadn't needed them at all while the young Samurai were away, but it was always better to be careful.

He heard bags hitting the ground and walked to the door to greet the Rangers. He expected to be met with smiles but instead he found a fleeting yellow and five upset Rangers.

"Emily…"

"Don't even bother," Kevin told him as he stretched out. He had been cramped in the car ride to the airport, cramped in the plane and cramped in the taxi on the way home. It felt good to be able to move around freely and stretch his muscles. Though right now that was the only thing that felt good, "We've tried to talk to her for the whole flight. Nothing worked."

"What happened?" Mentor asked. "I understand the Earth Samurai have never been good with air travel but…"

"We had to leave Serena behind," Jayden explained.

Mentor nodded, "Ah. I see you needed her there after all…"

"Dekker was there," Jayden said. "If it weren't for Serena… he would have finished his duel with me and…"

"She's dead because of you!" Mentor heard Emily scream and he turned to find her already changed into her training uniform. Mike rushed to her side. He took her hand and whispered softly into her ear.

"Emily, remember what I told you, she might have…"

"Might have what?" Emily shouted, pushing him away, "Might have crawled out from underneath god-knows how many tonnes of rubble? I'm sure Dekker was right there, waiting to help, because we know he's such a kind and caring bloodthirsty killer!"

"Emily…"

"Don't," Emily snapped as she turned to Mia. "She's gone. Nothing you guys say or do now is going to change that."

"We had to go," Jayden tried to reason with Emily but it didn't work. Emily shook her head.

"I just hope you guys are all happy," she pushed her way through her friends and walked out the door. Mike huffed loudly as he followed her, afraid of letting her go off on her own.

Jayden sighed as he looked at Antonio and nudged his best friend. The fisherman nodded and pulled the Black Box from his bags. He handed it to Mentor.

"I couldn't figure it out," he said sadly. "I'll keep working on it, but it's going to take a while to crack…"

"Do as you must," Mentor nodded. He turned to Jayden, "You should all get some rest after that flight. You look pretty worn out. Your rooms are as you left them. Your back-up did a good job at cleaning up."

"Thanks," Kevin said as he grabbed his things and headed to his room. He wasn't sure how much rest he would be getting, though.

"Back-up?" Mia asked, looking up at Mentor Ji. She remembered him mentioning something about the city being safe in their absence, but he had never mentioned who would be protecting it.

"I called in a few friends who were willing to help out," Mentor nodded. "Though, it seems Master Xandred followed you to the Tengen Gate."

"Which reminds me," Mia grumbled, "we still have a Nighlok to defeat. We never actually killed that big bug. I don't know what happened to him."

"We'll worry about that when he comes back," Jayden placed a hand on her shoulder. "For now, go to bed. Training will resume as usual starting tomorrow morning."

"I will leave you to rest," Mentor said as he left the Rangers to rest. Mia followed his lead and headed back to her room.

Antonio looked at his best friend sadly. They all felt guilty for leaving Serena behind and he knew it was a tough call to make, but he knew Jayden would be feeling terrible about it. The one thing that hadn't changed from when they were kids was how much Jayden cared for all his friends. He wanted to see them all happy and safe. Right now that wasn't possible.

"You did what was right," he told Jayden, hoping it would help, even a little bit.

"Maybe we should have stayed," Jayden muttered, kicking his bag gently with his foot. "We could have gotten a later flight; we could have guarded the Tengen Gate until we knew for sure…"

"Guard the Gate and draw Master Xandred to it day after day?" Antonio furrowed his brow. "Okay, I know I'm not a Samurai expert just yet, but wouldn't that be a bag thing? We're guarding it by keeping him here. He's coming after you."

"But…"

"Serena did what she did," Antonio shrugged his shoulders casually. "You didn't tell her to stop Dekker. She knew the risks. It's not easy to adjust, especially since we have no idea if she's alive or dead, but we will get over it."

"Emily…"

"She'll bounce back," Antonio promised. He nudged his best friend gently, "And you can help her by staying strong. If you doubt yourself, so will she. You did the right thing, Jay."

"Then why doesn't it feel like it?" Jayden asked. Antonio shrugged his shoulders before wrapping his arm around Jayden's. He guided him to their bedroom.

-Samurai-

"I thought you wanted to train," Mike whispered as he reached the edge of the forest with Emily. They were walking hand in hand, almost in complete silence.

Emily nodded her head slowly, "I thought I did too… I guess I just don't want to be with the others."

"You know, they…"

"Please don't defend them right now," Emily stopped walking and looked up at Mike, "Every time you do I hate them more. Can you just agree with me, please?"

Mike looked into her eyes and nodded, "Sure. I get it," he gestured to a fallen tree that was perfect for sitting, "Want to just talk?"

Emily shook her head, "Can we do something?" she looked up at him with her big, pleading hazel eyes and Mike found himself unable to say no.

"Do what?" he asked.

"Anything as long as it's not at home," Emily's eyes looked past him at the nearby bus stop and the bus that was making its way down the street. If they ran, they would be able to catch it and get a ride into the city.

"You'll have to get changed or people will…" he stopped himself when he saw her looking upset. He sighed, smiled and removed his green jacket, "Here."

Emily felt warm and safe in his jacket. It was way too big on her but she didn't care. It was like a never ending hug from Mike and it made her feel better.

He took her hand and ran with her to the bus stop. They jumped on just as the bus was about to leave and rode into town.


	108. Scruffy

He tried all he could to cheer Emily up. He brought her to the park for some ice-cream, but that didn't do anything. Her frozen treat had hardly been touched before it melted in the sun and she was forced to throw it out before it got her hands, and his jacket, all sticky.

He took her to the bakery for a cupcake, but Emily wasn't in the mood to eat that either. He couldn't complain there, though. She had given him her cupcake to eat.

He brought her to the arcade, hoping maybe he could take her mind off her sister by teaching her to play a few of his favourite games, but that didn't last long, especially when he saw his friends, Reece and Matthew. He and Emily had to sneak out of the arcade before they were seen by the two boys. He remembered how his visit had ended the last time he saw his friends and didn't want them to get hurt again because of him.

The only time he saw Emily truly smiling was when they were walking down the street and a dog broke free from its master and ran up to her. Emily played with the gentle creature until its owner retrieved the dog and apologized.

So, when they crossed the pet store, Mike couldn't resist taking her inside. He wanted her to smile, no matter what.

"Look," Emily looked up at Mike, eyes shining as she pet a small golden retriever puppy. The worker had the puppies out of their cages and had let Emily play with a few of them, but Emily quickly bonded with the puppy currently receiving a belly rub.

"He likes you, Em," Mike chuckled as he knelt down to pet the dog as well. "Maybe Antonio and Jayden should have gotten you a real puppy."

"We used to have a dog," Emily said to Mike, "Back on the farm. He passed away when I was little though, and we never got another one."

"Why not?" Mike asked her as the puppy grabbed a ball and dropped it before Emily. He wanted to play. Emily smiled and rolled the ball along the floor.

"We had horses, cows and chickens already," she shrugged as the dog brought the ball back, nearly tripping on the round toy several times, causing Mike and Emily to laugh. "A dog was good, but dad said there were enough mouths to feed."

"I had a dog too," Mike smiled. "Hopefully he's still waiting for me back home. Mom wasn't very happy when I brought him home from the shelter. Dad and I convinced her, though."

"I'm sure he is," Emily nodded and looked down at her own puppy. She chuckled as the little yellow pup nudged her hand, trying to get her to play with the ball again. When she reached for the toy, the dog began to bounce and his tail wagged to the point where Emily was sure it would propel him forward.

Mike watched one with a laugh, "Mia was right when she compared you to a dog."

Emily rolled the ball on the ground as she turned to Mike with a frown. Mike simply pointed to the dog as it slipped and slid across the floor to chase after the ball.

"Remind you of anyone?" he asked teasingly.

"Scruffy's ready for adoption," the employee told them. "Some paperwork and the cash and you could walk out of here with him tonight."

"We're not…"

"Really?" Mike asked.

The employee nodded, "He's kind of a handful," she said. "We called him Scruffy for a reason. Some of the other employees wanted to call him Doomsday because he's always getting himself into trouble and making a mess."

"I'm sure he's not that difficult…"

"My boss wants him gone A.S.A.P.," the employee said. "If you guys are serious, we can have the deal done by closing time."

Mike looked down at the puppy then up at Emily's smile. He would do anything for that smile, especially now that she was really hurting.

-Samurai-

"Can't sleep?" Mia asked when she saw Kevin coming out of his room. It had only been a few hours since they had come home and she expected him to stay in his room to try and rest.

Kevin nodded his head, "Too many questions going through my head."

"Same here," Mia tapped the stool next to her and he took a seat. She leaned into him, "I feel bad."

"We were following orders," Kevin said to make her feel better, but he was also saying it for himself. He felt just as bad, and just as guilty as her and everyone else. "Besides, we did what we could. If we went with Mike and Emily Jayden would have found out and he would have stopped us. At least they got the chance to look for her."

"That doesn't help me sleep, though," Mia sighed. Kevin wrapped his arm around her.

"She knew the risks. I'm sure she would do it again, and again. She got Dekker off our backs for a little bit, and next time we face him, we'll be fuelled with rage."

"You and I both know that's not the way to fight," Mia looked up at him.

"Dekker deserves it, though."

"Now I agree with you," Mia nodded.

Kevin leaned over and kissed her, "How about we get away?" he suggested. "Just for tonight, while things are quiet? We could use a little…"

Kevin stopped when he heard what sounded like a bark. He shook his head.

"Okay, I know guilt can play with your head but…"

"You heard it too?" Mia asked as she looked at Kevin. She was just as confused as him.

The front door opened and Mia and Kevin heard Mike and Emily returning home after their long day out. They exchanged a look before getting up to greet their friends (and to figure out the source of the barking).

They were met with a surprise when they both nearly stumbled over a hyper puppy as he bolted down the hallway at top speed, eager to explore the new environment. Emily was about to chase after the dog when she saw Kevin and Mia and she was suddenly reminded of what happened in Japan. The smile dropped from her face and she lowered her head. Kevin and Mia stepped aside, letting her through as she went after the dog, ignoring them.

Kevin turned to Mike, "Explain."

"It made her smile."

"So? You're not going to bring home everything little thing that makes her smile, are you?" Kevin asked. "I know you want to help Mike but…"

"But what?"

"What Kevin's trying to say is this is a long term commitment for a short term issue," Mia said but Mike shook his head.

"Short term issue?" he glared at the couple. "Fine, I'll take the dog back if you can look Emily in the eye and tell her Serena's okay. Tell her the older sister she loved, adored and idolised isn't dead."

"Mike…"

"She needs this," Mike interrupted before any arguments could be made. He handed Mia the dog bed he bought from Scruffy at the pet store, "The lady who sold us the dog said he didn't like sleeping alone so…"

Mia sighed. She couldn't very well demand that the dog go back to the store lest she wanted Emily to hate her even more in a time where she needed her friends the most. Nor could she deny the dog or Emily a peaceful sleep.

"It better not keep me awake at night," she muttered as she turned to put the dog bed away in her room.

Kevin turned to Mike with a sigh as he girlfriend walked off, "Mike…"

"C'mon, Kevin," Mike smirked, "It can't hurt to have a dog around. It'll teach us all to be more responsible and all that other important stuff you value."

"I guess."

"And besides, I know you wanted Antonio and Jayden to get Emily a dog for her birthday. This way it'll wear her out and she won't always be looking for something to do. I know it bugs you sometimes."

"Fine," Kevin nodded his head, "But I do not want to clean up after it."

"Deal," Mike shook Kevin's hand. "Now, help me convince Jayden and Mentor…"


	109. Talking To Emily

To Mike's surprise it hadn't been too difficult to convince the rest of the Shiba house to adopt the dog. Of course, no one wanted to be responsible for cleaning up after him and Scruffy needed to be properly trained, but Mike was happy Emily got to keep her puppy. Scruffy was already doing a good job at distracting her whenever she was reminded of her sister.

Of course, she needed to face her problems head on at some point. Even she knew she couldn't avoid the topic for the rest of her life, nor could she continue to hate her friends. But she wasn't ready to talk to them. She didn't want to talk with them and she didn't want to admit that they had done the right thing. That would be admitting that Serena was gone for good, and she couldn't bring herself to imagine that.

So, when Scruffy had worn himself out and was no longer a distraction to Emily, Jayden approached her cautiously. She didn't walk away from him, but refused to look at him.

"Emily…" he tested the waters first to see if she would answer him. Emily wasn't normally one to get angry so this was new to him and everyone else.

"Go away," Emily growled. She turned her back to Jayden, not ready to talk, but when she looked at the kitchen door she saw Mia and Kevin were standing there, also wanting to talk with her. She got up from her stool and turned to the back door, but Antonio stood in her way.

With no other choice, she blocked her ears so she wouldn't have to listen to her friends. She screwed her eyes shut and tried to block them out.

She felt a pair of gentle hands grab her wrists. She could tell it was Mia, but she wouldn't open her eyes, especially for Mia. The pink Ranger reminded her too much of Serena. It was the reason why Emily looked up to Mia like she did. Mia was strong, confident, smart and beautiful, just like Serena. And even though she was older, smarter, stronger and wiser, she never looked down on Emily. She always treated the younger girl with respect. The similarities were abundant, and it was another reason why Emily hated Mia.

"Emily, please just listen," Mia pleaded with the young Ranger, knowing Emily could hear her. She couldn't blame Emily for being upset. She knew Mike had taken her out to search for her sister and she had passed out sometime during the search, only to wake up in the airport on the way home without another chance to find and save her sister. It must have hurt Emily deeply to be forced to leave Serena behind, and Mia had no doubt that Emily felt betrayed by her friends. "We didn't want to hurt you, Emy…"

"Don't call me that," Emily snapped, tears filling her eyes suddenly. Before Mia came along, only Serena had ever called her that. Everyone else she knew usually just called her Em or Emily. It was only a coincidence that Mia used the same nickname Serena once used. Once it was a happy coincidence. It reminded Emily of home and of her sister. Now, though, it was a painful reminder of Serena.

"We didn't want to leave Serena behind," Jayden explained now that Emily was no longer ignoring them completely. "But if we had turned back, we could have run into Dekker again and none of us were in any condition to fight."

"So?" Emily asked.

"Think logically, Emily," Jayden said gently. Logic wasn't Emily's main focus right now. Her friends were ganging up on her and trying to force an apology on her that she didn't want to accept. "Dekker was ready for a duel then and there. Serena stopped him the only way she could. If we went to save her and found Dekker, it would have been for nothing. If she's dead, she died to protect us."

"We didn't have to flee the country the moment she died," Emily shouted. She stomped her foot on the grounding, squishing one of Scruffy's squeaky toys. It squeaked loudly, waking the dog. Instantly the puppy was ready to play. He rushed to the source of the noise and bit down on the toy. He tried to pull it out from under Emily's foot but lost his grip and rolled back.

He shook himself off, rolled back to his feet and glared at the toy. He then glared at the leg holding his toy captive. He glared up the leg until he saw his master.

Suddenly, Scruffy wasn't in a playful mood. He approached Emily and sat down at her feet. He looked up at her and whimpered. He nudged her legs until she lowered herself and pet his head gently with her hand. He nestled into her, allowing her to cuddle him so she could feel better.

Jayden, Antonio, Kevin and Mia watched Emily play mindlessly with the puppy. Mia knelt down beside the yellow Ranger and scratched the puppy gently under his ear.

"He is cute," she said to Emily. The blonde nodded her head slowly.

"He keeps me busy."

"Would it help if we told you we all feel bad?" Mia whispered. She carefully placed a hand on Emily's back, hoping to slowly pull her into a hug.

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "Not really."

"We cared for Serena too," Mia said. "She's your sister; that makes her one of us. And, we haven't known her for very long… only since your birthday, but she's helped us out a lot. Leaving her behind wasn't an easy decision for us."

"I know," Emily whimpered. "I still don't like it."

"We get it," Mia nodded. She wrapped her arm around Emily's shoulders and pulled her in.

"I still hate you," Emily muttered into Mia's shoulders as she hugged her older sister figure, careful not to squish Scruffy.

"We know," Mia nodded again. "We know it'll take a while."

Suddenly the Gap Sensor went off and the Rangers looked up. Mentor Ji and Mike hurried into the common room from different ends of the house while Jayden walked to the table and pulled up the map. Kevin gazed over his shoulder.

"Looks like the Nighlok's finally come back for round two," he said to the team. "We'll beat him this time."

"How?" Antonio asked. "I've been working on the Black Box, but I still haven't been able to crack it."

"You must focus on defeating the Nighlok," Mentor told the Rangers.

"But the Nighlok are getting stronger," Mia sighed, "and smarter. While I hate Splitface, he had a good plan."

"And Spider-freak is powerful," Mike added.

"If we can't defeat him we'll have to hold him off," Jayden said. "The Nighlok can't last too long in our world. As long as we keep fighting until he starts to dry up, we should be okay."

"That doesn't sound like it's going to work," Kevin said sceptically.

"Do you have another plan?" Jayden challenged and Kevin shook his head. "Alright then, let's go."

As they rushed out, Mike pulled Emily aside.

"Are you…?"

"I'll be okay," Emily nodded. "I'm still not happy with them, but I won't let them fight the Nighlok alone. Besides, we talked."

"If you're sure…"

"Positive," Emily smiled. She picked up Scruffy and handed him to Mentor Ji, "Keep an eye on him for me please."


	110. The Stronger Nighlok

By the time they got to the scene of the fight, the Rangers saw their Nighlok was blasting at buildings. He had already taken down an entire complex and didn't appear like he was ready to stop any time soon. His army of Moogers were following loyally behind him. Thankfully they had scared everyone away before someone got hurt, and that left the Rangers with a wide open ground to fight. Nothing was worse than when they had to avoid hurting the people who were still running away.

"Fighting buildings?" Mike chuckled as he called to the Nighlok to get the monster's attention, "Wow, you're tough!"

The Nighlok didn't say anything. He spread his arm and lightning descended from the sky. It blasted the Rangers, knocking them off their feet right from the start.

As they got back up, Emily watched the Nighlok carefully. The Gap Sensors had told them this was the same Nighlok as the one in Japan, but he looked different – very different.

"It's like he's mutated or something," she said just before long tentacle-like arms shot out from his body and whipped the Rangers back onto the ground.

"He's stronger, I'll give him that," Mike nodded his head as he pushed himself up.

"That's not a good thing," Mia grumbled. "He got us last time!"

"Then you guys focus on the Moogers," Jayden ordered, jumping to his feet, refusing to give in before the fight even started. He drew his spin sword as the Nighlok charged forward. "Fire Smasher!"

He swung his Fire Smashed, but it had absolutely no effect on the Nighlok. When the Fire Smasher returned to being just a regular Spin Sword, Jayden backed away as the Nighlok began to blast him. He managed to avoid any lethal blows, but he hardly had any time to find his bearings before the Nighlok charged at him again, resuming the battle.

It didn't take long before the Nighlok knocked Jayden off his feet and the others regrouped around him. They defeated the Moogers, but it hadn't been easy. For some reason, everything about this battle was becoming more and more difficult as time went on. Jayden glanced over his shoulder at the others. They were going to need that Black Box and soon. Unfortunately, it was still unsolvable. Antonio was working as hard as he could, but even that wasn't enough.

"Let's try a Quintuple Slash," Jayden suggested. He wasn't going to give up mid-battle, and he didn't expect his team to do the same. They nodded and fired up their weapons, but nothing would faze the monster.

"Do it again!" Antonio suggested, taking a few steps forward, "This time, I'll help it on its way."

"But we'll hit you!" Mia reminded him as he rushed forward.

"No you won't. Trust me," Antonio assured her. "I've got a golden move that'll keep me safe and power up our attack."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Jayden nodded.

Antonio drew his weapon while the Rangers powered up the Quintuple Slash and aimed it at him. They watched with worry as it was blasted right at him, but Antonio spun around, capturing the energy and turning it into his own. He redirected the blast at the Nighlok and, for an extra kick; he added his own slash with his sword.

It knocked the Nighlok into the air and sent him flying into a large boulder. The Nighlok grumbled and groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. He glared at the Rangers before taking off in the other direction.

"Hey!" Antonio called, "He's getting away!"

"Get back here you coward!" Kevin cried but just as he was about to chase the Nighlok it disappeared into a portal. He groaned and turned to Jayden. "What do we do now?"

"The city's safe," Jayden said. "That's our goal."

"But he's going to come back again," Mia frowned behind her helmet. "We can't keep fending him off."

"Yeah, he got stronger this time. If he continues to get stronger we're screwed!" Mike nodded.

"Then we'll get stronger too," Jayden turned to his friends and gazed at Antonio, "You'll focus on that Black Box. We'll need it cracked and soon," he looked at the rest of his friends, "We'll train. No excuses. I want everyone on the mat in one hour."

"Why does that sound hard?" Mike grumbled.

-Samurai-

Training went on late into the night, long after their regular sessions. Even Kevin, who usually practiced late into the night, was tired as he dragged his feet along the hardwood floor on the way to the common room. The Rangers all sunk down onto their stools, too exhausted to walk the extra steps to their rooms.

"Okay, surely we can't keep this up," Mike grumbled as he grabbed his towel from Mentor Ji and wiped the sweat from his brow.

Scruffy bounced into the room, excited his master and playmates were back inside. He rushed right over to Emily with his stuffed toy in his mouth. Emily grabbed the toy, which started a little game of tug-o-war.

"Please tell me that dog has an off-switch," Mia groaned when she noticed the dog getting more and more excited as the game continued.

"You all did well today," Jayden nodded, thinking a little encouragement would help lift his team's spirits. "We'll train again in the morning and go over what we learned today."

"Yeah, kill the monster or else we train until our arms fall off," Mike waved his arms around while Antonio walked in from his bedroom. He heard the others coming in and decided to update them on his progress, or lack-thereof, with the Black Box.

"I know a true samurai never gives up," he muttered, "but this is getting ridiculous. Can't we just, you know, create our own power source? One that isn't as complicated to use?"

"Any news on it?" Kevin asked. Antonio shook his head.

"Hardly," he sighed. "I'll try again tomorrow morning. If I don't get some sleep I'm going to look and feel like the Chupacabra."

"Chupa… what?" Emily frowned, pausing her game with the dog for a moment as she glanced up at Antonio.

"We should all get some rest," Jayden nodded. "Everyone to bed."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Mike said as he pushed himself up from his stool, groaning as he moved. He walked past Emily and gave her a kiss goodnight before heading to bed. Kevin did the same with his girlfriend as he followed Mike to their room.

Jayden wished the rest of the room goodnight before he made his way to his and Antonio's room. Antonio followed suit, marching behind his fearless leader, more than ready to call it a night.

Mia got to her feet, "Are you coming to bed, Emily? You heard Jayden, we're back to training tomorrow morning. Even you don't have that much energy."

"I'll be there in a minute," Emily nodded sadly. Mia turned to leave but couldn't bring herself to head to bed without Emily. She turned back around.

"Are we okay?"

Emily shrugged, "More or less. Why?"

"You're quiet," Mia stated, "You're not usually the quiet one. Jayden's making more noise than you."

Emily let go of Scruffy's toy, letting him with the game of tug-o-war. The puppy proudly marched around with his toy, showing off his victory. Emily watched her little puppy sadly until he came back to her. She picked him up and cuddled him.

"I don't like not knowing where she is," she told Mia, lowering her voice to a soft whisper. "Mike and I went out to look for her before the flight. She wasn't at the cave-in. Neither was Dekker. I don't know what that means."

"Maybe she got out," Mia suggested.

"How?" Emily asked. "There were tonnes of rocks and dirt on top of her. She couldn't have gotten out on her own. And why would Dekker help her after she tried to kill him? It doesn't make sense. I know she's dead but… I don't know."

"It's bugging us too, Emily," Mia assured the young Samurai. She walked back over to Emily and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "We all have questions for Dekker next time we see him. We'll figure out what happened to her, one way or another. If she's still out there, we'll find her."

"If she's dead?"

Mia didn't answer. She slowly helped Emily to her feet to help the girl get into bed before she wound herself up even more. The silence didn't go unnoticed by Emily and it did nothing to ease her worries for her sister.

"Mia… what if she's dead?" she asked again. She wanted to pull an answer from Mia. She wanted as many answers as she could get.

Mia sighed loudly. She didn't know how to answer that.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

Emily breathed slowly as she crawled into bed with Scruffy still in her arms. The little puppy was delighted at the chance to sleep in the big human bed and quickly made himself comfortable amongst the blankets and pillows. Mia watched in silence from her own bed as Emily tried to get comfortable. She knew nights were hard for the yellow Ranger. The silence and the dark opened up a world of questions and allowed Emily's mind to wander through all the different scenarios of what could have happened to her sister.

She reached to her lamp to turn off the light, but before she did she cast one more glance at Emily.

"I'm sorry."

She saw Emily turn to her and nod slowly. No one had truly apologized yet. They all tried to convince themselves that they had done the right thing, and apologizing would be admitting the opposite. Emily didn't want to believe her sister was dead, but the odds weren't in Serena's favour at all.

"Thanks."


	111. Forcefully Dedicated

Dekker wasn't used to travelling with a partner, least of all a partner he had to carry. For centuries he had walked the Earth alone in search of a worthy opponent for a duel to the death; someone who would satisfy his and Urumasa's cravings, or rid him of his miserable curse. Most people he met fell quickly to his sword, or he didn't bother with them. He could sense when they weren't worthy to fight, and he didn't want to waste his time with the unworthy.

He let out a pained moan as he dropped to his knees and set his travel partner down onto the ground as well. He was immortal and healed much faster than most from injuries, but he was still sore from the cave-in and needed to rest. He wanted an epic duel against the red Ranger and that wouldn't happen if he wasn't at his best.

He had almost gotten his duel, but as usual the other Rangers got in the way. He thought he could use them to motivate the red Ranger to fight with all his strength, but, as it turned out, they were unstoppable as a team. None of them were worthy individually, but there was no denying they outnumbered him, and it took too much energy for him to keep them from running away or trying any plans to get away from him. If he wanted to fight the red Ranger, he needed to come up with a new plan.

It would be another while still before he met the red Ranger again, though. He was going to give his opponent a little more time to practice. In hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best idea kidnapping him when he had been poisoned. Even though he had healed the red Ranger before the duel, it seemed he still hadn't been at his best. His worry for himself and his friends had weighed on him. Dekker needed to eliminate that.

But first, he had to take care of the yellow Ranger's sister. He didn't know what he wanted to do with her once she recovered. She was strong, and he could use her to train, but that would require constantly having to look out for her and keeping her from running off when she was feeling better.

He could also choose to kill her now and fuel the red Ranger's rage when they were to meet next. However, doing that would anger the yellow Ranger, as well as the rest of the team, and he would find himself in a battle against all six Rangers instead of just the one.

Suddenly, she stared to stir and Dekker took a step back, still undecided about what to do. He watched as she lifted her head and looked around. She never spotted him due to her limited range of motion after being buried alive by her own attack, so she assumed she was alone in the woods. Slowly, once she thought the coast was clear, she picked herself up and stumbled to her feet. Dekker watched on, impressed as she pushed herself back to her feet every time she fell. He knew she was badly hurt. He had tended to her briefly when he had last stop to rest. Once again, she impressed him with her determination to push on and find her way home. Most humans would have given up and started calling for help.

She didn't make it very far after several attempts to walk home, but Dekker continued to watch. He wondered what exactly she was trying to accomplish. Did she really think she would make it back to the Tengen Gate by herself?

"Why do you insist on this?" he finally spoke, startling Serena who hadn't noticed his presence until just now. "You won't get far. Not like this."

"Why are you always there when I turn around?" Serena said through clenched teeth. She couldn't turn to look at Dekker, but she recognised that voice. It was always there, looming in the back of her mind. Mostly because it could always be heard when she least expected it. He did make a habit of turning up at the strangest of times.

"I have been around for centuries," Dekker shrugged.

"Want a medal?" she snapped sarcastically. "Are you just going to stand there or do you plan on killing me? I'd like to know now before I waste any more time trying to get home."

"By home… you mean the Tengen Gate?"

"I'm not going anywhere else," Serena grumbled. "Now, you have two choices: either kill me now or help me. Either way, you'll be doing me a favour."

"I should kill you," Dekker touched the hilt of his sword as he looked down at the yellow Ranger's sister. "You did push me back into the cave."

"You were trying to kill my friends," Serena reminded him. "It's what I do when you threaten people I care about. I've got some young bullies I wish I could have shoved into a cave as it collapsed. Unfortunately, I would have been charged with murder. Pushing you into a cave-in almost makes me look like a hero, though."

Dekker moved his hands away from his sword: "Choose then, hero. Life or death."

Serena scoffed, "Look, I don't have all day. I have a Gate to get back to and if the only person I have to pass the Guardian powers onto is you, I would rather defend the Gate myself."

"I take it you choose to live," Dekker stepped around Serena so he was finally in her range of sight. He looked down at her. She had long since given up trying to get to her feet. She was probably waiting for him to either help her up, or kill her. Either way, there was no point in wasting her energy.

"Are you going to help me or not?" Serena growled. She glared up at Dekker with such hatred it almost hurt even him. Technically speaking, he hadn't done anything to her personally that would give her the right to aim such a strong glare in his direction. He had saved her life twice, now, indirectly saved the life of her sister, he had saved the green Ranger from becoming a Nighlok, and he had saved the red Ranger from dying a poisonous death. Sure, he had kidnapped her and lured the other Rangers to the cave so he could duel the red Ranger, but that wasn't an attack against her.

"Why do you look at me with such hatred?" he asked her. Serena turned away.

"I think you know."

"I do not."

Serena scoffed. Seeing as Dekker wasn't making a move to kill or help her, she decided to help herself. She placed her hands firmly on the ground and tried, once again, to push herself back to her feet. She barely broke contact with the ground before her muscles froze in pain and gave in, and she smashed back into the dirt.

"You want to head home?" Dekker asked.

"I need to make sure everything's okay," Serena said. "My friends are hurt and the Tengen Gate isn't going to protect itself."

"I see you have taken on the responsibility of guarding it," Dekker nodded.

"More like forcefully received the _honour_ of dedicating my life to a giant monument and scrolls of secrets," Serena muttered. She suddenly looked up at Dekker, "Uh, pretend you didn't hear that last part, okay?"

"I have no interest in the Samurai secrets," Dekker assured her. "I know all I need to know about the Samurai. All I care for is my duel."

"Why do you want to duel Jayden so badly?" Serena asked.

"I can only remember searching for a worthy opponent," Dekker told her. "After centuries of searching I have finally found him. Urumasa's craving for a worthy duel will soon be satisfied."

"So, you woke up one morning and decided your hungry and talking sword would rule your life?" Serena frowned. "Can you say whack job?"

"I did not choose this life," Dekker said. "Like you, I had little choice. You could say I also 'forcefully received the honour' of becoming the world's greatest warrior."

"If you say so yourself," Serena muttered under her breath. She looked back up at Dekker, "So, what happens after you beat Jayden. Assuming you want to beat him, of course."

"I search for a new opponent."

"And if Jayden beats you?" Serena asked.

"No one has ever beaten me before."

"No shit," Serena rolled her eyes, "If they had, you wouldn't be standing here like a total douche while I'm lying in the dirt. I guess your stupid sword never taught you any manners."

Dekker sighed. He knelt down beside Serena and gently grabbed her. He lifted her into his arms.

"I shouldn't have to tell you you're in no condition to protect anything," he told her as he carried her back in the direction of the Gate.

"Just get me there. I'll figure it out."


	112. Serena's Deal

While apologies had been made and understandings had been reached, things were still a little shaky in the Shiba household. However, over the course of the week they were improving slowly.

Emily was trying to get over her sister's death. She decided to treat it as such, given her lack of information on Serena's whereabouts and her condition, but hung on to a little hope that maybe she was alive by refusing to inform her parents and refusing to hold a funeral or a memorial service until she had solid proof that Serena was in fact dead. Giving herself an answer, and allowing herself to have a little faith helped her with her grief and helped her open up to her friends a little more.

Scruffy was being a big help in that department as well. Everyone was falling in love with Emily's little puppy and he was quickly turning into a member of the family. They loved him because he always seemed to be happy to see every one of them, all the time, and he was always able to turn a tense or awkward situation into a funny one. Many times he had made the grieving Emily smile, and many more times he had given Jayden, Kevin, Mia and Antonio an opportunity to talk to Emily about something that didn't involve Samurai training or her Ranger responsibilities. Scruffy took everyone's minds off the hardships they were facing.

Antonio loved the dog as well because Scruffy would occasionally sit with him as he tried to crack the Black Box. He loved the company; especially considering Scruffy wouldn't judge his efforts or pressure him to find a solution faster. The dog would just sit and watch and, occasionally, he would lean forward and gnaw on the Black Box or the Power Disks that the Rangers gave him to work with.

Morning training came to an end and Antonio was allowed a little break from the Black Box for lunch. All the Rangers gathered together outside by the barbecue as Kevin showed Mia how to make hotdogs without turning them into sticks of charcoal. Everyone figured they deserved a meal that was less Samurai-approved than the food they had been eating over the last few days.

"So, how was training this time?" Antonio asked as Mia placed a hot-dog and bun on his plate.

Jayden turned to his best friend and nodded, "It went well. We should do better against the Nighlok next time he shows himself."

"Sweet."

"You're welcome to join us this afternoon," Jayden smiled. "We can't have our gold Ranger falling behind."

"I will take you up on that offer," Antonio drowned his hotdog in mustard, "If I have to stare at that box for another minute I think my head will explode."

He placed the mustard bottle back on the outdoor table and reached back for his hotdog. He picked up the bun and brought it to his mouth before biting into his lunch. He furrowed his brow when his hotdog tasted like nothing more than bread and air.

"Wha…" he glanced down at his food and noticed the meat was missing from his bun. He glanced back up at his friends, but none of them had taken it. "Where did…?"

His eyes strayed to Scruffy as the little puppy chewed on the wiener.

"That's just not right," Antonio muttered as Scruffy finished the hotdog.

"Here," Kevin laughed as he handed the fisherman another hotdog. He turned to Emily, "He doesn't have any table manners yet, hmm?"

"I'm still trying to get him to stop peeing on Mia's pillow," Emily nodded her head and chuckled. "I'm kind of tired of washing pillows."

"Your dog, your mess," Mia said, handing Emily a well-cooked hotdog. She turned to the other boys, "Scruffy's got a thing for pink. He's always doing his business on my stuff."

"At least our stuff is safe," Mike smirked. He grabbed three hotdogs from the tray and ignored the disgusted looks from his friends as he devoured them.

-Samurai-

Back in Japan, Dekker had taken Serena back to the Tengen Gate. It took a lot of convincing to get the servants to let him into the Temple, but to his surprise Serena had vouched for him. It seemed she trusted him when he said he had no interest in the Samurai secrets.

She could trust him on that. He hadn't lied. As much as he didn't care for humanity anymore, he wasn't exactly aligned with Master Xandred either. Truth be told, he didn't care what happened to Master Xandred and the Nighloks. Whether they flooded the Earth or not, it didn't bother him as long as he had worthy opponents to duel. However, he found he was beginning to favour the survival of humanity. They were much more interesting to him than any Nighlok would ever be.

He had set her down in her bed and, with the help of the servants; he had tended to the rest of her injuries. Thanks to her quick thinking when she pushed him under the falling rocks, she had successfully managed to shield herself from taking any huge impacts by throwing herself underneath him, but there were still a few major breaks that needed to be looked after.

So he was surprised when, the following morning, he heard her walking into the common room. She walked with a limp and there was a pained expression on her face, but she was moving on her own nonetheless and Dekker couldn't help but wonder how strong some humans could be.

"Are they really gone?" she asked in a tone that sounded slightly distressed. He looked at her and shrugged.

"I don't understand…"

"The Rangers… I thought they would still be here but…"

"I know nothing more than you."

"You're still here," Serena pointed out. "Why are you still here?"

"You are a stubborn one," Dekker said, "but you can't expect to defend the Tengen Gate in your state."

"You mean you're helping me?"

Dekker nodded his head, "While I wait for my duel, there is nothing else for me to do."

Serena turned to the window that looked out to the garden where many of her servants were training.

"If you help me… I'll let you train here… with them," she gestured outside. "Just… no killing anyone, promise?"

"You're going to help me?"

"It's the least I can do," Serena nodded, "And anyways, if you train here, I can keep an eye on you."

Dekker stood up, "Then it's a deal."

"Wow, really…?" Serena frowned. She thought it would take a little more convincing to keep him here, under her watchful eye. "Uh… okay."

"You expected me to leave?"

"Kind of," she nodded truthfully, "And I kind of expected you to protest the no killing law."

"I am not a murderer."

"Oh, right, my bad," she shook her head, "I'm sorry, I must have you confused with the other warrior that wants to kill my friends… what was his name…"

"Your sarcasm is not lost on me."

"Good."

"I do not _want_ to kill your sister or her friends; only the red Ranger."

"One is too much."

"Your friends just continue to get in my way," Dekker said. "And red Ranger refuses to fight unless his friends are in danger. I have no choice."

Serena looked at Dekker for a moment. He did have a point. The Rangers had a habit of sticking together, no matter what. She remembered her mother teaching her about teamwork when she was very young.

"_No matter what, Serena, stand by your team. They'll be your biggest allies and together you will overcome all challenges."_

She had grown up learning the value of unity. When one teammate faced hardship, the others must help. They were the defenders of the planet. In battles, they won as a team and lost as a team. If one Samurai was faced with a challenge, the others would do anything to lend a helping hand. That included rescuing the red Ranger from a duel to the death with a half-Nighlok-half-human.

"What if you found a way to keep the Rangers from interfering?" Serena asked him. "There's no way you can hold then off and put them in danger by yourself. There's too many of them."

"What are you proposing?" Dekker asked.

Serena stood confidently, "A deal. I'll help you. When you fight the red Ranger, I'll keep my sister and the others from interrupting. I'll do almost anything to keep them from coming between you and red Ranger. I'll be the ones to threaten their safety."

"Why would you…"

"But you have to do something for me," Serena interrupted. Dekker crossed his arms over his chest, intrigued.

"I'm listening…"


	113. If You Don't, I Will

Jayden knew the new training schedule was a lot of work. Training hours had increased dramatically as a way of keeping the Rangers at their best while Antonio worked to figuring out the Black Box. With the Nighlok getting stronger, they couldn't risk another loss. They needed to keep up with Master Xandred and the monsters for the sake of the planet.

But even he had learned the value of rest. So when he heard someone was outside whacking a training dummy, he had to wonder why they weren't getting any sleep.

He slid the door opened and stepped outside. On the mat, Emily was practicing; beating up the two dummies with force he had never seen her use. She had been much more aggressive in training lately as a result of her lingering anger at her friends for leaving her sister behind in Japan, but this was different. This was much more powerful.

He cleared his throat and she turned to him swiftly, nearly taking his head off with her Spin Sword. Had he not leaned backwards in the nick of time, he would have been a goner.

"You should be sleeping," he said. "You worked hard today and there's still more work to be done tomorrow."

"I can't sleep," Emily muttered.

"Is there something bothering you?" Jayden asked her. "We can talk, if you would like?"

"No," her answer was short and to the point. She was no longer ignoring her friends, and she was friendly towards them, but there was still an undertone of rage that would surface from time to time when Emily's thoughts stayed back to her sister. She would close herself up to the rest of the team. Sometimes, even Mike felt the pain of her bite.

Jayden knew it wasn't easy to lose a loved one. Even years after the death of his father he still missed him. Most days were good. Most days he could think of his father and still wear a smile on his face.

Other days, for no reason, he would be unable to hide the sadness. One moment he could be training, laughing while surrounded by his friends, but the moment a memory of his father crossed his mind it would take all he had and more to keep the tears from falling. It seemed Emily was the same way. She had been fine all day.

But nights were always hardest. There was something about the dark that always made the pain feel unbearable.

"Do you want me to wake up Mike?"

"No."

"Mia?"

"No."

"Where's Scruffy?"

"With any luck he's peeing on Mia's face," Emily slammed her Spin Sword into the dummy's side, knocking it to the ground.

Jayden sighed. She was angry again. It was a roller coaster she would be riding even long after they figured out what happened to Serena.

He turned to the side of the house and saw the training katanas. He walked over and grabbed two.

"Here," he held one out to her, "Fight someone who will fight back."

Emily took the katana before looking up at Jayden. She couldn't make any promises that she wouldn't hurt him. He was really the one she was still angry at. Leaving Japan, and her sister, had been his call. If anything happened to Serena, Emily had full rights to blame him entirely.

"Are you sure?" she asked him. He knew the risks of training with her and nodded his head.

"Just start easy on me, please," he said, "I need to warm up, first."

Emily held her sword tightly in her hands as she and Jayden went through the usual warm-up. She stopped short of hitting him and backed away, letting him catch his breath.

"I know you don't want to talk," he said while readjusting his hands, "but there's nothing else to do right now. Can you at least tell me why you're not in bed?"

"Nightmare," Emily nodded before starting another round. Jayden blocked all her shots save the last one, which hit him in the upper arm. Emily backed away as he rubbed the sore spot.

"Anything in specific?" he asked, giving her an opportunity to lie. She didn't have to be truthful with him. He didn't mind given the situation. "Zombies?"

"No."

Of course, Emily wasn't a liar. She didn't make a habit of it. He had only ever heard of her lying once, and that was to phone her sister. Even then, she had come clean about it long before the day was done.

He asked his question again, this time phrasing it so Emily wasn't forced into lying, but didn't have to reveal the truth, "Then what?"

She didn't answer. She swung her katana again, starting a third round and taking the battle up a level. She landed a first blow on Jayden's leg, almost knocking him down, and then got a final shot in his chest. He fell onto his butt and looked up at her as she backed away again.

"Don't even think about holding back," she told him. "I already told you, I can take a hit."

"I know," he nodded and got back to his feet, "You're getting better."

"I have to."

"We all do."

"Whatever," Emily shook her head and pointed her sword at Jayden, "Ready?"

They fought again. This time the battle lasted longer and both received a few painful blows, but none were enough to end the fight. After several minutes their weapons met in a lock. Emily glared up at Jayden and he looked down at her. They both backed away.

"Good one," he smiled.

Suddenly, Emily whacked the sword from his hand before driving the hilt of her katana into his ribs. Jaden clutched his chest and fell to his knees.

"If you don't kill him, I will."

"Dekker?" Jayden looked up at her. He couldn't say he had seen her attack coming, but he should have expected her to do something of the sort.

"I can't kill you," Emily shrugged.

Jayden pushed himself to his feet and grabbed Emily's arm gently. He led her over to the bench and sat her down.

"You're being silly."

"Where is she, Jayden?"

"I don't know."

"Because you didn't look," Emily growled. "She's dead because of you."

"Maybe not…"

"Jayden!"

He remained silent and let her finish.

"I don't want to blame you… I don't like being mad at you."

"You've been okay until now."

"Yeah. You're my friends. I don't want to be mean… and I know you didn't do it on purpose. Not to hurt me at least."

"We didn't."

"But you still could have done something," Emily shrugged. "If she's dead… I have to blame you."

"I know."

"I don't want to… but I do. And I can't do anything about that. But I can with Dekker. He was there too. It's his fault. If he didn't take her… if he didn't want to duel you… none of this would have happened. I blame him too."

"We all do."

"If you don't kill him then I will," she repeated with more power this time. Jayden looked down at her as she said this. He looked down at her not because she wasn't his equal, but simply because she was smaller than him. Smaller and younger. Her age and size had been something that defined her in her time at the Shiba household. She was smaller and, therefore, not as strong as her teammates, especially Jayden and Kevin. In many of her exercises she had to work harder to do as they did.

Her young age meant she still had a lot of growing up to do. It was another struggle she faced. She was the little sister of the group and often they protected her. It was a disadvantage for her because at time it held her back, but her youth gave her something no one else had. She was naïve, fun, creative and innocent.

She wasn't made to be a killer.

Jayden shook his head, "You're not a murderer, Em."

"You don't get it…"

"You're mad," he took her hands in his. "You don't know what happened to Serena and you're mad. You need someone to take it out on. You don't want to hurt your friends and you can't do anything about the fact that Serena's probably dead. You think the only thing you can do to make things right is kill Dekker."

"I…"

"You said it yourself, you blame him. But whatever he did… you can't let that change you. If you really want to kill him, I'll have Mentor make a training dummy in his likeness and you can murder that to your little heart's content. But let me deal with Dekker, okay?"

"If he hurt her…"

"I'll take care of that," Jayden wrapped his arms around Emily and pulled her into a reassuring hug. No one wanted to see Emily change for the worse, and he was sure if Serena heard Emily talking right now she would be disappointed in her little sister. But grief made even the sweetest of people do crazy things.

Shortly after the hug started, Mike stepped out of the house. He couldn't sleep that night and had gone to check up on Emily. When he didn't find her in her room, he thought he could find her outside.

Sure enough, she was there. Jayden was there as well and the two were holding each other close. Mike walked over quietly, but his footsteps were still loud enough for Jayden to hear. The red Ranger looked up and nodded at Mike.

"Take care of her," he whispered as he slowly shifted away from Emily and off the bench, letting Mike take his spot.

Mike nodded before turning down to Emily. He spoke softly in her ear.

"Em, you okay?"

"Tired," Emily whispered back.

Mike chuckled. Trusting that Jayden had addressed whatever issue that was keeping Emily awake he didn't press the matter. He lifted her into his arms and turned back to the house.

"Well, the best thing to do when you're tired is sleep, huh?" he smirked, kissing her as he brought her inside. "C'mon, let's go see if we can find a good place to lie down. I think they've invented something called beds..."

"Mike…" Emily smiled.

"You know, I think they keep them in special rooms too. What are those rooms called? Bedrooms?"

"Goodnight," Jayden laughed as he watched the couple leave. He yawned as he picked up the training katanas and returned them to their spot by the side of the house. It was getting late and he was starting to think bed was a good idea.

But before he retreated into his home he turned and looked out at the forest, where Dekker had lurked many times in the past.

"I'm ready whenever you are."


	114. The Time Has Come

"I hope you aren't pushing yourself too hard," Dekker said without removing his eyes from his sword as Serena took a seat on the bench next to him and drank her water. Her main duty as Guardian was to protect the Gate from intruders, particularly Nighloks. She couldn't do that if she was out of touch with her training and had therefore dedicated a few hours of everyday to train not only herself, but the many servants as well. Unlike the Guardians before her, she wanted to be able to leave the Gate occasionally, therefore her servants needed to be able to hold down the fort on their own in case of an emergency.

They were going to have to learn to step it up quickly. Dekker was thirsty for his duel against Jayden and even if things went according to plan, Serena expected to be away from the Tengen Gate for a couple of days at least. She was sure the Nighlok wouldn't attack in this time with their focus on the Rangers back home, but she needed to be safe.

"Why would I do that?"

"The duel will happen soon, whether you're in top form or not," Dekker answered her. "All I care about is whether the red Ranger is ready to fight."

"So?"

"So, if you can't hold off the Rangers, it won't be my fault if one of them falls to my sword."

"We have a deal, Dekker," Serena growled. "You let me deal with the Rangers. Just focus on Jayden, okay?"

Dekker muttered something under his breath which Serena didn't quite catch, but she knew it had something to do with the deal she had made with him. While it wasn't going to stop Dekker from having his duel, it would change the outcome if he did decide to hold up his end of the bargain. Of course, she couldn't very trust that he would. He was a Nighlok and they were known for being deceptive towards humans, but at least for now she didn't have to worry.

She pretended not to hear his muttering, "So, when are we having this duel?"

"Soon," Dekker put his sword away as he stood up.

"Soon as in…?"

"Are your warriors ready?"

Serena looked at the training grounds and nodded her head, "They just needed a good refresher. They've really improved over the last few days."

"How long will you last in a battle?"

"I'm not a quitter," she shrugged, "and I want to protect the Rangers… I'll fight until I die."

"Good," Dekker started his way to the Temple, "We leave tonight."

"What?" her jaw dropped, "Tonight? I can't get a flight for tonight."

"Who says we're flying?"

Serena's stomach turned when she realised what he meant. With his help she would be able to use the portals of the Netherworld and travel from location to location. It wasn't recommended that humans use this way of travel, especially considering Nighlok weren't to be trusted. If she broken contact with Dekker for even just a second, she would forever be trapped in the Netherworld.

And that was best case scenario.

"I would rather take the plane…" she muttered.

-Samurai-

"Bad dog," Mentor scolded the puppy as Scruffy ran around the house with Mentor's shoe in his mouth. The young retriever liked to play with anything that was left on the floor and Mentor Ji's stuff was no exception.

Scruffy raced through the house, keeping one step ahead of the Ranger mentor as he tried to find the perfect place to hide the shoe.

Mentor grumbled when he finally caught the dog and had to wrestle to get his shoe back. While he had granted Mike and Emily permission to keep the dog, he had made it clear, especially to Mike, that Scruffy stay away from his stuff and that the dog did not interfere with their Samurai duties.

Stealing his shoes and therefore forcing Mentor to rush off in the middle of training was a violation of both conditions.

"You are more trouble than you're worth," he put the puppy back on the ground and held the shoe up for the dog to see, "Do not touch my stuff. Is that understood?"

"Mentor's not a dog person, huh?" Kevin asked with a chuckle as he watched the Mentor from behind the doorframe.

"I don't think he realises Scruffy thinks he's playing," Mia nodded. Mentor, while trying to scold the puppy, was waving the shoe around in the air and Scruffy's little eyes were following it closely, waiting for Mentor to let the shoe go so he could fetch it.

"Right now would be a really bad time to ask for the afternoon off for a date," Kevin commented and Mia quickly agreed.

"We'll try Jayden."

"Good call."

They tip-toed away from the common room before Mentor spotted them and went in search of Jayden, hoping to find him and get his permission before the day was gone. They were desperate for a little alone time.

They found him sitting alone outside by the edge of the forest, staring into the thick woods. Kevin and Mia exchanged a curious glance as they walked up behind him.

"Um, Jayden…"

"Yes?"

Mia stepped forward as he turned in his seat, "Uh, we were just wondering if… maybe Kevin and I could…"

"Normally I would say yes, but its best we stick together," Jayden interrupted her before she could ask.

Kevin scratched the back of his neck. Having to ask someone else to go on a date was already weird enough. Being turned down just made everything even more awkward, "Look, Jay, we know the whole Nighlok thing is a big issue, but Mia and I haven't been able to… you know… date in…"

"Months," Mia looked at Kevin before turning to Jayden.

"Samurai duty comes first," Jayden said. "We had this talk when you two first became an item."

"We know but…"

"We won't go far," Kevin promised. "Not like Ocean Bluff or anywhere like that. Just… into town for dinner or a movie or…"

"The others and I will get a pizza and we'll eat by the barbecue," Jayden offered up a compromise. "Mentor doesn't leave his room after 7:00 anyways. You'll have the house to yourself for a few hours."

"A stay-in date?" Kevin frowned. Mia grabbed his hand and dug her nails into his skin before he sounded ungrateful.

"We'll take it," she smiled as he boyfriend winced in pain. "Just no interruptions, please?"

"Antonio, Mike, Emily and I will leave together to pick up a pizza at 6:30. With the exception of us walking through the house to get to the outside table, you won't hear a peep from any of us until bed," Jayden nodded with a smile. He stood up, "I'm sorry I can't let you go out on a date, but I have a strange feeling."

"Like slice off Emily's nose feeling?" Kevin asked.

"It's been a while since Japan," Jayden said. "Dekker's not going to wait long for our duel, I know it."

"Don't forget the Nighlok," Mia reminded them. As much as she didn't want to face the creepy spider _again_, she was rather anxious to just kick its ass and finally kill it. She knew the longer it waited in the Netherworld to surface, the stronger it became and that worried her.

It troubled her for another reason too. Master Xandred usually sent monster after monster. There was some time in between the Nighloks, sometimes it was several days, but it never went on like this, with such a huge gap in between. Perhaps he knew about Dekker's duel with Jayden and was waiting to see if Dekker would kill off the red Ranger for him. Maybe he had his own plan cooking. Either way, it left her unsettled.

"That's why I want us to stick together," Jayden nodded. "I don't want Dekker or the Nighlok to single any of us out."

"Which explains why you're bringing three other people to pick up some pizza," Kevin said.

-Samurai-

A portal opened up in the middle of the forest and Serena and Dekker popped out. Dekker landed on the ground gracefully while Serena stumbled and landed face first in the dirt.

"Unpleasant," she muttered, pulling sticks and leaves from her hair, "Very, very unpleasant."

Dekker looked at his arm. Serena had left noticeable marks as they traveled through the portal and he was sure, had he not been cursed, that it would have left a painful bruise.

"You were panicked," he stated.

"Yeah, the Netherworld doesn't exactly scream 'home, sweet, home' to me," Serena retorted.

"I wouldn't have let you go," he told her with a smile. Serena shook her head.

"Sorry if I don't quite trust you just yet."

"If I wanted to kill you I would have done so by now."

"I don't know," Serena brushed the dirt off her clothes as she stood by his side, "you're kind of twisted. As much as it would suck for me, it would probably be very entertaining for you to watch me burn in hell… literally."

Dekker shook his head and gazed up at the sky. After a moment he grabbed Serena.

"The house is this way."

"We're attacking them at home?"

"Would you like to draw them into the city?" Dekker asked her. "Our deal only spares the lives of the Rangers. The people in the city are fair game."

"Fine," Serena muttered before she was pulled along. "I would like to state, before we do this, that while it was my idea, I don't actually like doing this."

"You could always back out and let me finish the duel the way I first intended," Dekker offered. "Of course, that would mean also putting the other Ranger's lives at risk. Tell me, would it be smart to kill your sister first, or let her watch as I slowly sacrifice all the others in order to feed the red Ranger's motivation?"

It was Serena's turn to grab his arm as she forcefully pulled him back and threw him into a tree. She pressed him into the tree as she got in close. She glared hatefully at him.

"Touch her once and I'll kill you personally," she threatened him.

Dekker pushed her away, "That's what I thought. Now come with me."

-Samurai-

"This is what I like," Mike smirked, collecting the last pizza box in his hands as he leaned back in his chair and finished off the leftover crusts that his friends weren't eating. He propped his feet up on the table, "A night under the stars and pizza. Man, life right now couldn't be any sweeter."

"I wonder what Mia and Kevin are doing right now," Antonio said with a mischievous smirk as he turned to the house. Suddenly, pizza crust hit the back of his head.

"Dude, we don't need any mental images," Mike mumbled through a mouthful of pizza. "As far as I'm concerned they're cuddling on the couch for the entire night."

While the outdoor dinner went on in the Shiba backyard, Dekker and Serena watched from the shadows, concealed by the trees of the forest.

"Aw, man," Serena grumbled, "I love pizza parties. Why wasn't I invited?"

Dekker shot her a look, "It's too bad we're going to have to interrupt."

"You could call the duel off," Serena suggested. "Pizza's just as good as an epic duel, right?"

"It's too bad the green Ranger finished all the pizza," Dekker commented. Serena turned back to her friends.

"If he only knew pizza would be the death of him," she sighed as Dekker drew his sword. Her eyes widened as she grabbed his hand, keeping him from lunging out and revealing himself, "Whoa, whoa, what do you think you're doing?"

"Our duel."

"Yeah, but we have to plan this right. Jayden's got to believe he's in a duel to the death if you want your worthy challenge. Follow my lead."

Serena stepped forward as Dekker watched her go. He remained silent; that way he would be able to hear if she said anything that would give him away. He trusted she wanted to keep her friends safe, but he wasn't sure if she had her own agenda or not. Even he couldn't be too careful.

As Serena approached the edge of the forest she stepped on a twig, snapping it in half. Suddenly, she heard what sounded like a puppy barking. She furrowed her brow. The Rangers didn't have a dog… did they?

"Scruffy," she heard Emily call and she looked up, through the trees as he little sister raced over to collect the dog before he got lost in the forest. She stood still for a moment as her eyes lingered on Emily. She couldn't believe what she was about to do, even though she knew it was for the best.

"What are you barking at?" Emily asked the dog as she picked him up. "If you go into the forest you'll get lost. Did you see something?"

She looked up and dropped Scruffy as her sister stepped out from the shadows. She would have leapt forward into Serena's arms had her sister not been wearing a look of pure hate and betrayal on her face.

"Serena…?"

Her voice caught the attention of the other three Rangers as they turned and gasped.

Serena pulled the original yellow Samuraizer from her pockets. Before leaving the Tengen Gate she had made sure she had some kind of weapon on her and she remembered the old Samuraizers. While she would be unable to morph into the yellow Ranger, it still had the ability to draw symbols. That was good enough for her.

With her Samuraizer she summoned a sword. At this point, Jayden, Mike and Antonio were all standing by Emily's side.

"You left me to die," Serena growled as she stared at the Rangers.

"How did you get back?" Jayden asked while slowly reaching for his own Samuraizer. He was a little curious about the one Serena had with him, but right now it wasn't one of his top priorities.

"More importantly, when did you get back?" Mike asked, feeling a lot more surprised than the others. He had told the head servant personally to let him know if they heard any news from Serena. So far, he hadn't heard anything and he had assumed it was because Serena's body hadn't been found. Yet here she was, standing before him and his friends. She still looked beaten, as a result of having been trapped in a cave-in, but all her wounds seemed like they had been tended too.

That only meant one thing.

"He's here, isn't he?" he growled, grabbing Emily's arm and pulling her behind him. He hoped his instincts were wrong and that Serena would never hurt her little sister, but she wasn't exactly presenting herself as kind and nurturing, even to Emily.

"He's not your biggest problem," Serena said and she swung her sword suddenly, attacking the Rangers until they broke apart. Jayden was standing to her left, while Mike, Emily and Antonio stood to her right. She turned her back to Jayden and stepped closer to the trio.

She could hear Jayden's feet in the grass as he rushed her from behind but he never made it to her. She heard metal hitting metal and saw the looks on her sister's and friends' faces when Dekker appeared behind her, protecting her from Jayden's attack.

"You're working with him?" Emily asked, her voice barely audible.

Serena nodded her head, "You think I would forgive you after you fly home and leave me to die from my own attack?"

"But…"

Serena smashed her sword into her little sister, turning the blade at the last moment so it landed flat against Emily's side. The hit, though, was still hard enough to sting, but Serena needed it that way. She needed the Rangers to fight her while Dekker got his duel with Jayden. The only way they would fight her is if they knew she wasn't messing around.

As Antonio saw to Emily and Mike rushed forward to defend her, Serena quickly glanced over her shoulder at Dekker. She hoped he kept his word to her, but she knew to never trust a Nighlok.

Little did she know that Dekker was keeping his eye on her as he stood against Jayden and waited for the red Ranger to make his first move. He turned his back to Serena and smirked while he muttered under his breath: "It's a pity she'll have to learn the hard way."


	115. The Duel

Jayden stood, prepared for the battle. He knew it wouldn't take long before Dekker would strike. He had his mind set on having this duel sooner rather than later, and a little thing like being crushed by tons of rocks wasn't going to stop him.

What did surprise Jayden, though, was the ally he had with him. He never imagined Serena would ever turn on the Samurai, or even on her sister, but when he glanced over to where his friends were fighting Serena and he saw she wasn't pulling any punches, he had to believe.

Seeing his opponent was distracted for a moment, Dekker took this as an opportunity to get close. In this fight, there were no rules or limits. Only the strongest would survive.

He slammed his sword into Jayden's side before bringing up his knee and landing a hard blow to Jayden's stomach. The red Ranger lost his breath for a moment as he clutched his stomach. An expression of pain was twisted on his face behind the helmet as he sunk to his knees.

He still had his sword in hand, though, and he wasn't about to quit. Like Dekker, he had nothing to lose. If he lost, and Dekker took his life, he wasn't sure the mad warrior would stop there. He knew if he lost this battle, everyone lost. He had to give this fight all he had.

He stood up, sword and Samuraizer in hand.

"You wanted a fight," he taunted Dekker, tracing several symbols in the air; "you got it."

-Samurai-

Inside the Shiba house the night couldn't get any better. Kevin and Mia had cooked their dinner together (and got a little touchy-feely while doing so), ate by candlelight and were now cuddling while watching a movie they both loved. They would have preferred to be able to get away from the house and their friends, but under the circumstances this was the best they could do and so far they weren't disappointed.

They were mid-kiss when they heard a loud thump. Kevin ignored it, preferring to continue his romance with Mia but he felt her press her hands into his chest and push him away.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Movie," Kevin mumbled while leaning in for another kiss. Mia pushed him away again and turned to the TV screen. She frowned when she saw the hero and his love interest were sitting together in a field under the stars. It was unlikely the thud came from the movie.

"Kevin…"

"It was probably just the others outside goofing off," Kevin tried to calm her. Mia wasn't settled easily, especially when she heard another thud.

Kevin groaned and got up to check on his friends. Hopefully they were just being noisy and he could give them an earful for interrupting his night with Mia.

Mia fixed herself up and followed him, curious about the noise she was hearing. She clung onto his arm, slightly worried about what could be going on outside. Her friends were loud at times, but it wasn't like them to deliberately cause noises that sounded more and more like a battle was going on as she and Kevin got closer and closer to the door.

Kevin turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. He had the intention of yelling at his friends but an inferno blast stopped him from doing so. Quickly, he grabbed Mia and shielded her from the attack while he jumped out of the way.

This time, they were the ones to cause the thump as they landed on the ground. The fire from the attack died down soon after they hit the floor and Kevin jumped up, rushing outside.

"What the hell is…?"

His voice trailed off when he saw the training grounds were completely destroyed and his friends were in the fight of their lives. Jayden was in a heated battle against Dekker – literally as he cast symbol after symbol in hopes of defeating the cursed Nighlok. Antonio, Mike and Emily had their own fight raging on with an opponent that looked a lot more human, but he couldn't make it who, or what, it was due to the dark.

Suddenly they heard loud whimpering as Scruffy raced past them, heading inside to hide from the chaos. Kevin and Mia couldn't blame him. They too wanted to hide but they knew they needed to fight.

Kevin turned to Mia and they both nodded their heads as they pulled out their Samuraizers.

"Shit always happens when we date, huh?" Kevin commented before morphing. Mia nodded, doing the same.

"We just have bad timing," she said before rushing in to join the fight. Jayden seemed to be handling himself well with Dekker, but the other three Rangers were facing an opponent who seemed to be too much for them to handle. As she and Kevin made their way over, Antonio was thrown through the air, straight for the Ranger couple.

"Got you," Kevin cried as he and Mia grabbed Antonio, catching him before he really hurt himself by landing on the hard ground. The gold Ranger shook his head and touched his helmet.

"Gracias," he muttered, "but it took you too forever to clue in."

"What's going on?" Kevin asked as he helped the gold Ranger to his feet and turned to the battle at hand. Emily was on the ground, on her knees, seemingly unharmed, while Mike was in a heated fight with the mystery opponent, though at second glance Mia and Kevin could tell he wasn't giving the fight his all. Something was holding him back.

"Dekker's back," Antonio explained as he gestured to the fight with Jayden and Dekker.

"Yeah, we figured that much out," Kevin muttered. "What I meant was: who the hell is that?"

"You won't believe me," Antonio turned and shot Kevin a look through his visor.

Suddenly, Mike crashed into the trio, knocking them all back to the ground.

Kevin had enough of this. He would never sit back and watch as an enemy hurt his friends. He didn't care who his opponent was, he wasn't going to hold back.

He pushed himself to his feet and summoned his Hydro Bow. Whoever the enemy was, they seemed skilled with a sword and in unarmed combat, given the way Mike had been taken out after disarming the threat. Kevin figured he would use everything he had at his disposal to even out the fight.

He took aim as his target moved in closer to Emily. One shot was all he need to stagger his enemy before he could rush in and take him, or her, out quickly.

Mia watched and waited, sword at the ready. She assumed Kevin had a plan – he always did anyways – and was going to follow his lead once he shot their opponent. But as she watched the target move closer and closer to Emily, she noticed there was a lot more hesitation, not only on Emily's part, but on the enemy's as well.

Kevin didn't hold anything back as he shot the enemy, blasting her off her feet. Over the sound of the explosion, he heard a pained scream and at first he thought he had hit, or the blast had been deferred to Emily. But when the smoke cleared the yellow Ranger seemed fine. She had taken a little bit of the hit due to her proximity to the enemy, but Kevin was relieved to see his aim had been perfect.

Unfortunately, Emily didn't seem happy as she crawled to the enemy's side.

"Kevin…" Mia muttered, grabbing his arm as it finally hit her, "That's Serena…"

Across the yard, Jayden and Dekker both turned when they heard the blast, intrigued to see where it had come from. Jayden's stomach turned when he saw most of his friends were okay, but that only meant that it had been Serena who was caught in the explosion.

He knew that if she had truly betrayed the Rangers, they needed to stop her, and had he been in Kevin's place, he would have done the same thing as the blue Ranger, but this fight wasn't going to be easy, even if the Rangers won. It had taken Emily quite some time to forgive her friends after they had to leave Serena under the rubble. Jayden was positive she wouldn't ever forgive anyone if they intentionally killed her sister.

He turned back to Dekker, eyes raging with anger.

"You're a monster," he screamed, swinging his sword, "What have you done to her?"

"It seems you're willing to give her the benefit of the doubt," Dekker smirked. He loved every minute of his fight with the red Ranger. Jayden was angry, he was motivated, he was strong, and he was giving this his all. This was exactly what Dekker had wanted. This was why the red Ranger was a worthy opponent.

He blocked an attack from the red Ranger and stood back, "I guess you have a right to know what happened after you and your friends left us at the cave."

"I just want to know what you did to Serena," Jayden snapped, slashing Dekker with his sword before delivering a powerful blow into the side of his opponent's face.

"I didn't do anything to her," Dekker said as he staggered backwards from the blow. He cupped the side of his face with his hand, "In fact, I was the one who saved her. You rangers call yourselves a family, and yet you leave one of your own to die. Even I find that heartless."

Jayden had heard enough. He didn't care what Dekker had to say anymore, he wasn't going to let him insult his friends. Leaving Serena behind had been a difficult decision, and it had been in the back of his mind ever since the cave-in. It was already haunting him, and if anything happened to his team or Serena as a result of this duel, Jayden would never be able to forgive himself. He already had one burden to carry; he didn't need blood on his hands.

"You don't know anything, Dekker," Jayden shouted.

"Does it matter?" Dekker grabbed Jayden by the throat and lifted him from the ground. He took a few steps forward before throwing Jayden over to the other Rangers, before they could attack Serena once again.

"You call yourself a hero," he said with a devilish smirk on his lips, "and yet, when your friend needs you, you leave the country."

Jayden coughed as he pushed himself up from the dirt, trying to get back into the fight and trying to keep Dekker away from his friends as they all turned to listen.

"Shut up…"

"If I were your friends, I would start to wonder how much I could really trust you, red Ranger," Dekker continued. "You say you'll do anything to keep your team safe, and yet, I found myself taking care of the yellow Ranger's sister like she was my own. Had it not been for me, she would have died and the Tengen Gate would be left unprotected."

"You…" Emily glanced down at her sister, who had barely moved since Kevin's attack. She could still see some of the many scars from where the rubble had fallen on her, as well as some fresh scars from her battle with the Rangers. They all looked rather painful and it was obvious it would have taken some work to get Serena back to fighting form. Work that Dekker had put in, not her friends.

"You're lying!" Mike shouted. He refused to believe Dekker would take time to help out his friends. He knew Dekker had saved some of them on occasion, himself included, but it would have taken days to look after Serena, and a lot of effort to save her from the cave. It just didn't sound like the Dekker he knew.

"Believe what you want," Dekker shrugged, "I know the truth. But let me just say, it's no wonder this duel was her idea. If I was betrayed by my friends and my sister, I would want revenge as well."

Emily looked at her sister as Serena tried to push herself up. She knew she had to hold up her end of the deal with Dekker. She couldn't let herself be defeated this easily.

"I'm sorry, Emily," she whispered while reaching for her sword. Emily shook her head.

"I didn't want to leave," she said as she fell into the dirt. Serena stood over her, sword at the ready.

Suddenly, Serena was pushed away as Kevin, Mia and Antonio attacked, refusing to let any harm come to Emily. They knew she wouldn't fight her sister, leaving her completely vulnerable to Serena's attacks.

Jayden pushed himself up from the dirt. He couldn't fight with his friends, though he wanted to. He needed to defeat Dekker, once and for all.

"Symbol power!" he shouted, tracing several Kanji in the air before him, "Fire!"

He cast them forward, one by one into Dekker, forcing him back until the heat of the flames was too much for the mad warrior to take. In an attempt to shield his face with his hands, Dekker lost his grip on Urumasa and Jayden didn't waste any time separating him from his sword. He kicked the sword as far from Dekker as it would go and stood over his unarmed foe.

He was just about to land his final blow when another sword got in his way. Jayden's eyes followed the sword upwards, along the blade until he saw the person standing in Dekker's defense.

"Emily…"

Emily ripped Jayden's sword from his hand. She had no idea who to believe, who to fight against, or what was really going on. But the one truth she knew was that Dekker had saved her sister's life. He had risen when the others chose to walk away.

"You've already won!" she shouted to Jayden, "Don't kill him…"

"But…"

"Don't kill him."

"You're making a big mistake, yellow Ranger," Dekker said with a smirk. Jayden was almost certain he was going to grab Emily, but the warrior turned away from both of them. He limped over to Urumasa and picked the cursed sword up from the dirt. He brushed it off and put it away before looking back at the Rangers and Serena. "This duel is far from over. The deal's off, the yellow Ranger interfered. Next time, I will not hesitate to finish him and all the other Rangers off."

"We'll finish this now," Jayden stepped forward but Emily stopped him. Jayden looked down at her, "Emily…"

"I owe him," she said.

"No, you…"

"He saved her!" Emily screamed. "I don't care what happened. He saved her and you didn't!"

Jayden sighed. He lowered his head and his sword. He knew she had a point, and as he raised his head to tell her, he realised the decision had already been made for him. Dekker was gone.

"This isn't over," he muttered as Emily raced past him. Mia caught her, though, before she could make it to Serena. Dekker may have been gone, but if he was being truthful about the duel being Serena's idea, she wasn't sure if she could trust Serena, yet.

"Emily…"

Serena backed away from Kevin and Antonio and threw her sword to the ground in frustration. It was risky, making a deal with the devil, and though Dekker had called off his end of the bargain, she still felt like she had accomplished something. All her friends were still safe, and no lives had been lost as a result of the duel.

But she was still frustrated. Dekker did manage to mess with the Rangers.

"Damn it!"

"I'd start talking if I were you," Kevin growled to Serena, still holding his sword at the ready. "You aren't exactly innocent."

Mike approached Kevin and shoved the blue Ranger just before knocking the sword from Kevin's hands. He glared up at the water Samurai.

"Lay a hand on her and I'll kill you personally…"

"Mike…?"

Mike stood confidently in front of Kevin. He hated everything about this night. Dekker coming for the duel, Serena turning on everyone, including Emily, and him needing to fight against his girlfriend's sister. But one thing was obvious. Emily needed Serena and she needed answers. One way or another, he was going to make sure she got what she needed.

"You heard me," he said.

Serena stepped forward. She didn't want the Rangers to turn on each other.

"Mike…"

"Shut up and explain yourself," Mike snapped, quickly turning to face her and his team immediately backed him up. They wanted answers, and it looked like they weren't about to trust Serena unless she told them what they wanted to hear.

Unfortunately, what they wanted to hear and the truth were two very different things. She lowered her head.

"Well…?" Antonio pressed her to speak, "we're all waiting."


	116. Serena Explains

"_What if you found a way to keep the Rangers from interfering?" Serena asked Dekker as they stood alone in the Tengen Temple. "There's no way you can hold then off and put them in danger by yourself. There's too many of them."_

"_What are you proposing?" Dekker asked._

_Serena stood confidently, "A deal. I'll help you. When you fight the red Ranger, I'll keep my sister and the others from interrupting. I'll do almost anything to keep them from coming between you and red Ranger. I'll be the ones to threaten their safety."_

"_Why would you…"_

"_But you have to do something for me," Serena interrupted. Dekker crossed his arms over his chest, intrigued._

"_I'm listening…"_

_Serena shifted uncomfortably now that the words actually had to come out of her mouth. She knew she was doing this for the good of the Rangers, and in the end, if it worked out, this plan of her would keep them safe and alive, but it was risky._

_It also wasn't something Dekker would agree to readily, as it went against everything he knew._

"_You won't kill the red Ranger."_

_A smile tugged on Dekker's lips as he locked eyes with Serena. He hoped, for her sake, that she was joking. This had to be a joke. He only lived to seek the ultimate duel, and it wasn't a duel without blood._

_Finally, he burst into laughter._

"_You amuse me…"_

"_Why is that funny?" Serena asked. It was her turn to cross her arms over her chest, "Surely you can get the perfect duel without murder, right?"_

"_Obviously you have never found yourself in a duel…"_

"_You crave a challenge," Serena remained as serious as ever, hoping to convince Dekker to take her up on her offer. "One way or another, you are going to fight Jayden, but whether or not it's the perfect duel is up to you. Either you can take me up on my offer, and I'll hold off the other Rangers for you, or you can get the hell out of my Gate and try and get through all five Samurai before you get to Jayden. That worked out well last time, huh?"_

_Dekker frowned before gesturing to all her injuries, "You don't have the strength to kick me out," he told her. "This is your home, but I have the power."_

"_Is that a threat?" Serena growled. Dekker didn't scare her. No one scared her; not when her friends were in trouble. Regardless of whether Dekker took her up on her offer or not, she wasn't going to let them fend for themselves. She would be a part of the battle. It was Dekker's choice whether or not she was his ally or his enemy._

"_You are a powerful opponent," Dekker nodded his head, "But your loyal isn't to me. Blood is thicker than water…"_

"_Exactly," Serena said, "I'm going to protect my friends and my sister, and right now, the best way for me to do that is to align myself with you. I'll keep Kevin, Mia, Mike, Antonio and Emily out of your way. You won't lay a hand on them because they won't interfere with your duel. And, as a way of repaying me, you're not going to kill Jayden. Beat him up, break his bones, do whatever you want to him, as long as it's nothing lethal."_

"_Urumasa will not be satisfied unless there is blood…"_

"_It's a freaking sword," Serena groaned and rolled her eyes. Swords were sacred for the Samurai, but this was getting ridiculous, even for a mad man. "Tell your sword to screw itself. You're in charge."_

"_You will not speak about Urumasa that way!" Dekker roared. He towered over Serena in his rage, teeth clenched, fists at the ready, and his face only inches away from hers. Serena didn't flinch. She was already in pain from her injuries; a little more pain would be nothing._

_Plus, she didn't believe Dekker would hurt her._

_She was right. He glared at her for a few moments before backing away. He knelt down on one of the cushions and sighed loudly._

"_So, you'll hold off the Rangers and let me have my duel with the red Ranger," he said and Serena nodded her head, "And in return, I am not to kill the red Ranger."_

"_Exactly."_

"_Accidents happen," Dekker smirked as he glanced at his sword, "What if…"_

"_Kill him, and I'll come after you personally," Serena interrupted. She took advantage of the fact that Dekker was on the ground to stand over him, this time, she was the intimidator. "Not to mention the other Rangers will want to see you dead."_

"_Is that supposed to scare me?" Dekker gave her a look, "I am the best warrior this world has ever seen and I don't fear death."_

"_That's my only offer. Take it or don't; the choice is yours."_

"_If you break your promise, there will be nothing to keep me from attacking your friends or killing the red Ranger," Dekker told her. "And I will not hesitate to harm or kill anything that gets in my way."_

"_You leave the Rangers up to me," Serena nodded._

"_Well," Dekker stood up and held out his hand, "For now, I guess we are allied."_

_Serena took his hand to seal the deal. She had done what she could. Now she could only hope he would keep his promise._

"_Good," she grabbed a training katana from beside the door as she headed outside, "I'm going to train. I suggest you practice non-lethal attacks. You're going to need them."_

_Dekker smiled as he watched her leave. Gently, he tapped Urumasa before following her._

"_Interesting…"_

-Samurai-

"Bullshit," Kevin scoffed once Serena finished explaining herself to him and the other Rangers. He turned away, "Total bullshit. You expect us to believe Dekker just agreed not to murder Jayden just because you told him you would fight against us?"

"I…"

"I thought I felt bad when I raised my sword against Jayden and the others," Kevin growled before Serena could get another word in, "At least that wasn't my fault. You deliberately turned on us; on your own sister!"

"You could have killed her," Mike nodded. He knew Emily would never hurt her sister, which put her in much more danger than any of the other Rangers.

"You have to believe me," Serena said, "If there was any other way I could have done this…"

"You turned on us!" Kevin shouted.

"And who left me to suffocate under a pile of rubble?" Serena shouted, losing her temper, "I don't remember any of you coming to help me. When Dekker and I got back to the Tengen Gate, where were you guys?"

"That was different…"

"You're lucky the deal I made with Dekker involved no killing…"

"If any of that was even true."

"Shut up! Both of you!" Mia shouted. She was still holding onto the now trembling Emily, and she couldn't blame the young Ranger for being scare and confused. Mia was completely lost herself. On one hand, she was made at Serena for making any kind of deal with Dekker, but on the other hand she wanted to be able to trust Serena. The whole affair was just a big mess and Kevin and Serena's fighting wasn't helping her or anyone else to figure this out. "Maybe we should have buried both of you under the rubble!"

"Mia…"

"You know what I mean, Kevin," Mia glared at her boyfriend. "Can we just figure this out like normal human beings? Before someone else gets hurt?"

"I agree with Mia," Jayden nodded, "Us fighting isn't going to get anywhere."

"Jay," Antonio frowned to his best friend, grabbing Jayden's arm, "She fought with Dekker, you know, the creep who wants you killed."

"But if what Serena says is true then she never betrayed us," Jayden stated. He turned to Kevin and looked the blue Ranger in the eye before he continued, "Sometimes we can't avoid putting each other at risk. But we have to…"

"Do what's best for the greater good," Kevin sighed. He remembered receiving the same speech from Jayden after he found himself under the Nighlok's spell and he turned against the Rangers. It hadn't been by choice, and Kevin felt terrible for hurting his friends afterwards, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Kevin nodded his head, "But…"

Mike let out a heavy sigh, "I believe her," he said. He turned to his friends, "I think she's telling the truth. I think this was just a plan… Dekker did mention something about a deal…"

Jayden nodded. He had been right there in front of Dekker when he mention the deal being broken. Surely that had to mean something.

"Regardless of any deal made between Serena and Dekker, all of our lives are at risk," he said. "However, given that Serena's standing here with us now, and she's not gone with Dekker, I'm willing to believe she's telling the truth."

"Long story short, you believe her?" Mike asked.

"But Jayden…" Antonio protested but a look from Jayden shushed him. Antonio sighed. He didn't like knowing his friends were possibly in danger. There could be more to Serena's deal than what she had told the Rangers, but there was no point I arguing if Jayden made up his mind. He glared at Serena, "This doesn't mean we won't be watching you."

"I'll be back at the Tengen Gate in a matter of days," Serena shrugged, "maybe even hours. I can't do anything from there, anyways."

Mia examined Serena carefully. She liked to believe she could read people and she knew if they were being truthful or not. Sometimes things got past her, like when her friends were lying to her about her cooking, but for the most part she was pretty good at identifying if a person was a friend or foe. Serena never struck her as the kind of person who would intentionally harm her, or any of the Rangers, and even now she seemed harmless.

Going with her instincts on this one, Mia nodded her head and smiled.

"I probably would have done the same thing if I were you," she told Serena. It was another reason why Mia could trust Serena. They were alike in many ways. Mia could understand why Serena would have made the deal with Dekker in the first place.

She nudged Kevin and reluctantly he nodded as well, "Yeah, yeah… I guess you were in a bit of a tight situation…"

Serena smiled. Kevin was a bit of a hard-ass. She knew that was his way of saying things were okay between them… or they would be… eventually.

So she turned to her sister. Emily hadn't said much since Dekker left. She had taken an obvious stand against her friends during the duel, choosing to spare Dekker's life because he had saved her sister's, but Serena wasn't sure where she stood with Emily. She had, after all, attacked Emily willingly, and even if it wasn't to kill, it had probably hurt her more than just physically. Emily could just as easily choose not to believe her sister.

"Emy…"

Emily shrugged and pulled into Mia, finding comfort in her Ranger-sister's arms as she looked at Serena.

"I thought you were dead," she muttered.

"For a while, I thought I was dead too," Serena nodded.

"It sucked," Emily whispered. "I didn't like it."

"At least I was missed," Serena shrugged her shoulders. For once, she didn't know what to say to her sister. She was normally the one Emily ran to when things were difficult or confusing. This time it was different, and it was weird.

"You were really just trying to keep up safe?" Emily asked. "You weren't mad at us or trying to get revenge? You were helping us?"

"Yeah, Emy," Serena nodded. She reached out and took her sister's hand, though there was barely a response from the younger girl. "C'mon, you're my little sister. I spent my entire life trying to keep you from danger… why would I throw that away?"

There was a ghost of a smile on Emily's lips as she looked up at her sister. She nodded her head.

"Okay… just… don't do it again, okay?"

"Yeah, Emy," Serena chuckled, "I won't do it again."

"Let's get inside," Jayden announced. "We've had a long night."


	117. Serena Says Goodbye

Things were a little awkward around the Shiba house with Serena being home – or, rather, visiting. The Rangers were still getting back into the habit of trusting her again. Some were coming along a lot faster than others.

Jayden had always been a bit of a mystery to Serena, but she just assumed it was because she didn't know him like the others would have, especially Antonio. He was a lot warmer and inviting than some of the other Rangers (Kevin and Antonio, for example), but he still made a habit of keeping his distance from her. Now, more than ever, he was spending most of his time in the dojo or training outside with the dummies. It could have been because Dekker wasn't finished with him yet, or it could have been because the Nighlok that had defeated his friends back home in Japan was still lurking about. Still, Serena didn't question Jayden. He was giving her a place to stay while she booked her flight home and recovered from some of her injuries; injuries that would be hard to explain to security at the airport.

Kevin had been keeping his distance from Serena as well, but he was slowly coming around to the idea that she hadn't betrayed him or the other Rangers thanks to Mia. The pink Ranger was doing her best to make Serena feel welcome and had forced Kevin to spend more time than he wanted with Serena. A few talks here and there (with Mia playing referee), and the relationship between the blue Ranger and the Tengen Guardian was slowly repairing itself. Although, it would be sometime before Kevin and Serena were best buddies again.

Mia was one of the few smiling faces Serena could run into around the Shiba house, and truth be told, Serena was really relieved that Mia trusted her. She knew she probably didn't deserve it, even though she had never truly betrayed the Rangers, but given the way most of the boys were treating her, intentionally or not, she was starting to feel a lot like an outsider. But that was the reason why Mia was being so friendly. She didn't like to make people feel bad, especially when they didn't deserve it. She figured Serena would be getting enough grief from the others and could do with at least one forgiving friend.

But, Mia had made it clear over the last few days that the past wasn't completely forgotten, not just yet, and while the threat was lodged in the back of Serena's mind, it was a bit of a comfort to know the Rangers, and Emily, had someone looking out for them when she was gone, even if it was one of their own.

Antonio wasn't one for being cold and distant, but Serena had threatened his best friend's safety, even if she had tried everything she could to keep him alive. She had admitted that her deal with Dekker involved him hurting Jayden in more ways than anyone could count, so long as none of those ways were fatal, but it still wasn't what Antonio wanted to hear. He was rather protective of Jayden, especially now that Dekker was really starting to become a threat to the red Ranger, and he didn't take kindly to anyone who turned their backs to his friend.

Mike was up and down at times. For the most part, he seemed to have forgiven Serena, but the eldest Samurai was starting to wonder if he was just trying to stay in her good books for Emily's sake. Still, most of his friendship seemed genuine, and Serena was actually sort of relieved whenever he would remind her of her deal with Dekker. It felt a lot more natural to her when she knew he was still undecided about the whole situation, instead of just fake, and it felt like he was being a lot more honest about the way he felt when he was poking fun at her or reminding her that things could have turned out a lot worse.

Finally, there was Emily. Serena wasn't too sure what was going on in Emily's head. On one hand, she knew Emily was probably relieved that she was still alive, and wanted to make herself feel better and safe once again by spending as much time with her sister before she had to leave, but on the other hand, Serena also knew that Emily had probably been the most surprised when Serena had raised her sword against her. Ever since Emily could remember, Serena had always been the one to protect her and look out for her, swearing to never hurt her. In one night, all that trust had been destroyed and it was hard for Emily to take. To Serena, none of it was real, but to Emily, the entire night had been a nightmare that she would never be able to wake up from. Her bruises were real, the scratches were real, the gashes were real… it was all real, and it would never be forgotten, even long after Serena would receive Emily's total forgiveness.

But, thankfully, the Rangers had each other to rely on. That never changed, and Serena hoped it never would. They trusted each other now so much more than ever and if there was a bright side to her deal with Dekker, this was it.

Serena walked to the doorway and slipped on her shoes. She didn't have anything to take home with her. She had come back to the U.S. via portal, and hadn't taken anything with her aside from Dekker and the original yellow Samuraizer. To keep her from looking too suspicious at the airport, Mentor Ji had lent her a suitcase and he had filled it with a few old clothes and bathroom supplies, but there wasn't much else that she could take with her.

She turned around and took her bag from Mentor Ji, nodding in appreciation before whispering goodbye. He smiled and bowed slightly, before leaving to go back to his room.

Serena glanced down the hallway, where the Rangers were all standing together to say goodbye to her. Things had been strained, and even though they all still had mixed emotions about her, watching her leave was difficult for all of them.

"Well, the Tengen Gate's not going to wait around for me forever," she shrugged, not expecting too many goodbyes. "I should probably…"

"Thanks," Jayden interrupted her before she could turn to leave. Serena looked at him with a small smile.

"Uh… for what?"

"Thanks for your help with Dekker," he said. "It threw us all off a little bit… but we probably couldn't have stopped him without you…"

"Even if you were helping him," Kevin rolled his eyes until Jayden nudged him in the ribs and Mia shot him a look. He sighed, "Sorry…"

"Its fine," Serena shrugged and waved off his comment. She was rather used to it by now. "I still deserve it… but you guys know…"

"You're still an ally," Mia smiled. She looked to the rest of the team and they nodded.

"Yeah," Serena nodded, "Trust me, if I could have stopped Dekker any other way, I would have… oh, uh… sorry again for ruining your date."

"Happens every time," Mia smirked and turned to Kevin. Every time she and Kevin wanted a night to themselves, it always ended poorly for the rest of the team. "Truth be told, we should have seen it coming."

"Well, at least now you have a plan to draw out that Nighlok," Serena chuckled, "Worse come to worse, you and Kevin could just date again. It's fool-proof, apparently."

"I like that idea…"

"No," Jayden cut Kevin off before he could make a suggestion. He knew his two team mates were desperate for a chance to get out of the house and away from the others, but it was best if the Rangers stuck together until they had a better idea of what they were up against. The last thing he needed was a divided team when the Nighlok or Master Xandred struck again.

"Yeah, dude," Mike nodded his head in full agreement with Jayden as he turned to Kevin, "Your crappily-ever-after never ends with one of you getting hurt. Jayden, Emily and I blew up that first time…"

"Emily had a nightmare the second time," Jayden added.

"And Serena and Dekker came back this time," Antonio finished off the list while casting a glance at Serena.

Emily furrowed her brow, "Why am I somehow involved in all three of those sucky endings?"

Mia chuckled and wrapped her arms around Emily, "We'll try to leave you out of it next time, okay?"

"You better," Emily pouted.

Serena watched the exchange between the Rangers for a moment before she realised she was going to be late if she didn't leave soon. She readjusted the position of her bag on her shoulders and took a deep breath.

"Well, hopefully I'll be seeing you guys soon," she said. "If you seal Master Xandred away for good, I don't see why I'll have to stay in Japan…"

"Are you trying to find reasons for us to let him flood the Earth?" Kevin bit and Jayden once again had to nudge him. He glanced at Serena, "Sorry…"

"I'll go before you and I both get hurt," Serena nodded. She looked at her little sister, hoping for a more emotional goodbye, though she would understand if Emily didn't want to do anything more than utter the words and watch her sister leave. Still, Serena had to try, knowing she would be away for months, possibly years, "Emily…"

Emily looked at her sister and then, without any indication of what she was doing or where she was going, she took off in the opposite direction, down the hallway. Serena sighed and let her baby sister leave without a complaint. She didn't think it was wise to chase after her, nor did she have the time.

"Can…"

"I'll make sure she's okay," Mia offered. She smiled to Serena as a final goodbye before going on a search for Emily, leaving Serena alone with the boys. She shifted uncomfortably.

"Well… I guess there's no reason to stay anymore," she shrugged and she turned to the door. This time, she was leaving.

"Hey, Serena," she heard Mike called and she paused for a moment.

"What?" she didn't turn to him. That would only make her miss her flight. If she turned back now, she was never going to get out of the Shiba house.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" he said softly. "It might not look like it now, but we do all care about you."

"I won't be the one running into danger on a daily basis," Serena said. "Good luck with Master Xandred, and good luck with the Black Box."

With that, she stepped out of the house and Mike slowly closed the door behind her. He looked at his teammates with a slight shrug.

"Well… I guess that's it… unless anyone else has any family members we should worry about."

"We're good," Kevin chuckled, in a bit of a better mood now that Serena was gone.

"I'm going to get to work on that Black Box," Antonio quickly glanced at his bedroom door, "Maybe now that things are calming down I'll be able to figure it out."

"I'll go check up on Emily," Mike said. He was just about to follow Mia and Emily's trail when the yellow Ranger raced past him and the others and flew out the door.

"What the…" Jayden frowned and he looked at Mia as she turned the corner. The pink Ranger smirked and shrugged her shoulders.

"They're sisters."

Outside, Serena was just about the leave the academy grounds when she heard Emily calling her name. Even though she knew she would run the risk of missing her flight, she had to stop for her little sister.

"Emily, what… oof…"

A yellow bag was thrust into her arms. It was rather squishy and plush, but the surprise alone was enough to knock the wind right out of Serena.

"You have to take that with you," Emily instructed her sister. She used a tone that told Serena she wasn't kidding around. The elder sister looked down at the bag and reached to the opening, but Emily swatted her hand away. "Souvenirs."

"What?"

"Tell security it's souvenirs, if they ask," she explained to her sister. "You won't be lying."

"Why can't I see what's inside it?" Serena frowned. The flight was a long one, and because she didn't have a lot of luggage, she was only planning on carrying-on everything she had with her. If she had to sit through the entire flight from the U.S to Japan without opening the bag, she was going to lose her mind.

"You just can't, okay," Emily said. "Not until you get the Tengen Gate, promise?"

"Yeah, of course," Serena nodded her head which caused Emily to smile. The two sisters stood in silence briefly, unsure of how to leave things. Serena didn't want to make the first move, terrified it would push Emily further away if she wasn't quite ready and Emily was still too confused and hurt by her sister to let herself get close again.

"Don't die," Emily muttered. She looked down into the dirt.

"I won't," Serena smiled. Emily looked up, a small smile on her face.

"Okay… good," Emily started to walk away, knowing she would have to get back to her Ranger family. She didn't want to leave things with her sister so unresolved, but Serena had a Gate to protect, and Emily had the world to look after.

Serena clutched Emily's bag to her chest as she watched her sister head back to the house. She saw Mia and Mike were waiting for the yellow Ranger by the door and she smiled to herself. Emily would be fine without her, and so would the Rangers. They had done okay before she arrived (aside from letting a monster steal Emily's spirit) and they would be fine in the future without her.

But before she could leave, she had one last thing to say.

"Hey, Emy," she called. Emily turned around to face her sister, but never stopped her walk to the house. Serena smiled, "I'm proud of you."

A smile lit up Emily's face as she locked eyes with her sister.

In the distance, Serena could hear her bus into town coming down the road. Whether she wanted to or not, she had to leave.

With a skip in her step, Emily raced back to the Shiba house. She grabbed Mike and Mia's hands and pulled them inside.

"I'm bored, let's do something fun!"


	118. Afternoon Dates

With Serena gone and things back to normal at the Shiba house, Antonio was back to work trying to get the Black Box to work. Since he had returned from Japan he had manage to hack inside and format the technology to absorb the Ranger's symbols, but so far he had been unsuccessful in the transfer. It was a lot of hard work, and draining work, and required a lot of focus and energy on his part. He could only do a little work at a time before he fell over or passed out from exhaustion. Mentor Ji and the others weren't lying when they said using Symbol Power was very draining. Right now, Antonio couldn't help but admire them for their mastery. He obviously still had a lot of work to do.

He was working on Kevin's power disk. He figured it would be easier to program one symbol at a time rather than getting them all to download into the box together. It meant he would be working on the Box a lot longer, but the chances of success were also much higher.

He fell to his knees and almost dropped his Samurai morpher as the energy wave faded. He pounded his fists into the ground. He couldn't do this. He knew he was only alive today because the Nighlok still hadn't returned from the Netherworld, and when he did, he had better have the Black Box up and running or him, and the rest of his friends were doomed.

He wasn't the kind of guy to lose hope quickly, but he couldn't deny that the Nighlok were getting stronger. Sooner or later they would easily overpower the six Rangers, and unless there was a seventh one somewhere in hiding who would turn up in the nick of time, the Black Box was their only hope of defeating Master Xandred.

Refusing to give up, Antonio pushed himself back to his feet and tried again. He pointed his morpher at the blue disk and started the transfer. His vision blurred, his knees were weak, and all he wanted to do was fall asleep and never wake up, but he had to finish at least one transfer.

Suddenly, just as Antonio was about to call it quits for the day, he saw something he never thought he would see, at least, not anytime soon. From the blue Power Disk emerged the spirit of Kevin's Dragon Zord, representing the Blue Ranger's Symbol Power. The dragon jumped from the blue disk into the Black Box and disappeared inside. The transfer was complete.

"I did it!" Antonio cried, grabbing the blue disk. He held it up proudly and started bouncing around, ignoring his body's cries of protest. "Fantástico!"

Jayden heard the screaming and jumping coming from the room he shared with Antonio and came to check it out, only to find his best friend jumping back and forth between the beds, holding Kevin's Power Disk in his hands.

"What are you…?"

He was stopped when Antonio jumped off the bed and landed right in front of him. The gold Ranger grabbed his leader by the shoulders and shook him in his excitement.

"I got it!" he cried gleefully, "I got the dragon! It's in the Box!"

"Congratulations," Jayden smiled, "Seems you were the right man for the job."

"I still need to work on the others," Antonio admitted, though the smile never left his face, "But I got one down, that means the others are possible! I can do this!"

He shoved the blue disk into Jayden's hands before turning to the Black Box again. He was so excited about getting the first symbol in he wanted to see just how far he could get with the others. He pulled out his morpher and pointed it at the yellow disk.

"C'mon, baby," he muttered as the transfer began. Jayden watched for a brief moment before the connection was interrupted and Antonio stumbled over. He would have hit the ground had Jayden not caught him.

"Antonio!"

"I'm okay," Antonio stammered as Jayden sat him down on his bed.

"You got one done," the red Ranger smiled, "That's enough for today. This is a lot of work."

"I can do it…"

"Not like this," Jayden said. "Tomorrow you'll try again."

"But what if the Nighlok…?"

"You'll try again tomorrow," Jayden repeated. He gave his friend a pat on the shoulder, "We now know you can do it. It's only a matter of time now before we see what's inside that box."

"Hopefully we don't have to wait too long," Antonio rubbed his forehead, finally ready to admit that he had done enough for the day. "Hey, where are the others?"

-Samurai-

Kevin wasn't normally a pet person, but right now he was in love with Scruffy. Thankfully, part of being a responsible owner was taking the dog out for a walk at least once a day, and Mentor Ji couldn't deny the Rangers the opportunity to be responsible, so he had given Kevin, Mike, Mike and Emily permission to walk the dog, so long as they returned to the Shiba house in time for their evening training.

It didn't take four people to walk the dog, but Mentor knew he would never hear the end of the complaining if he only let two people escape the house for a few hours (he preferred the Rangers always travelled in pairs). He knew the four Rangers were going to abuse their freedom and they were likely to find some privacy, or at least double date, but as long as they met his conditions with being home on time, he would turn a blind eye this once.

"Sniff as many trees as you like," Kevin told the puppy as Scruffy stopped once again to smell a tree. He was enjoying every minute of this walk. The warm sun beating down on his face, the light, cool breeze that kept him from getting too hot and Mia by his side, walking with him, hand in hand. He wished it would never end.

Emily, however, was getting impatient with her dog.

"Again?" she whined as Scruffy relieved himself. She didn't know where he stored it all but it seemed he had an endless supply of urine and he loved to mark every tree he found suitable (which were most of them).

"At least he's peeing here and not in the house," Mike commented, nudging Emily slightly, "If I have to clean the rug one more time…"

"Or my pillow," Mia wrinkled her nose, "I think the smell's starting to stick…"

Suddenly, Scruffy turned away from the tree as something caught his eye. It wasn't another tree, and it wasn't a squirrel. It was the biggest body of water he had ever seen. He parked and tugged on his leash, trying to convince Emily to take him to the lake.

"Looks like someone wants to go for a swim," Mia chuckled when she saw Scruffy was eager to head for the water. Kevin's eyes lit up just like the dog's had. It had been a while since he had been in the water and he was starting to get a little anxious for the chance to swim. He didn't care that he didn't have his bathing suit with him. He wanted to have a little fun in the lake.

He grabbed Scruffy's leash right out of Emily's hand and took off with the dog, "I'll take him!"

Mia rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders as she turned to Mike and Emily, "Maybe I should have seen that coming."

"You are dating the swimmer." Mike chuckled before nodding his head in the direction of the lake, "Maybe you should follow him."

Truth be told, Mike didn't care if Mia followed him into the lake, or if she just stood by the shore and watched, as long as she left him and Emily alone. Though neither were as vocal about needing to get out of the house to enjoy some privacy, they were both craving it, and the afternoon walk gave them the time they need.

Mia cast a knowing glance in Mike's direction as she noted his eagerness for her to leave him and Emily. She gazed sceptically at the couple before turning away slowly.

"Okay… but don't wander off, you two," she warned them both, "We've only got a couple more hours before home."

"We'll be fine," Mike nodded, "Go, have fun."

Mia did as she was told and chased Kevin to the water. She got in and splashed him and Scruffy, letting both her boyfriend and the dog know she was here to have fun.

Mike chuckled and smirked with pride. It hadn't been difficult for him to convince Mia to leave, though she probably didn't need much convincing. He was about to turn to Emily to let her know they had a couple of hours to themselves when he noticed she was gone.

"Em?" he looked around for her, thinking she couldn't have gotten far in the few seconds he had taken his eye off her. He checked up in the trees, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Two seconds," he muttered, "I look away for two seconds and she's already bouncing off somewhere…"

He figured he would look for a hot-dog vendor or an ice-cream stand. Emily usually migrated towards those when she was at the park. She would always be able to convince someone to buy her a special treat. Whether it was Mike, Jayden, Kevin, Antonio or Mia; no one was immune to Emily's pleas. Mike had even seen Emily use her sweet charm to persuade Mentor Ji to make special meals for dinner. She could be pretty dangerous when she wanted something. She knew exactly how to get it.

But she was nowhere near either stands. Mike frowned and scratched the top of his head. He spun around slowly, trying to see if he could spot her. She was dressed in yellow, she wasn't easy to miss.

"Where the hell…?" Mike didn't finish his question when he suddenly lost his footing and found himself stumbling down a little ditch. He landed on his butt in the dirt and moaned in pain. "Okay, didn't see that one coming…"

He got to his feet and brushed the dirt from his clothes before finally spotting Emily. She was lying in the dirt on her back, looking up at the sky. He rolled his eyes and laughed as he walked over to join her.

"Next time let me know when you're about to run off like that," he told her as he laid next to her.

"I saw an airplane," Emily whispered and she pointed to the sky where a jet had left a streak in the sky.

"You're hyper, you're bouncy, you need to be moving constantly and you get distracted by shiny things in the sky," Mike smiled and there was a trace of laughter in his voice, "ever been tested, Em?"

"Tested?" she turned to him, her face twisted into a curious look, "Tested for what?"

"Never mind," Mike smirked. He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her in closer until she was resting her head on his chest, just over his heart. He held her gently with his left hand, while the other reached over slowly and grabbed her right hand. Their fingers laced together and he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it.

"The airplane reminded me of Serena," Emily explained to Mike as she nestled in closer to his body.

"Really?" Emily's head bobbed up and down with his laugh, "If an airplane is going to remind me of anyone it would be Mia. I'm convinced that if she used enough symbol power and we strapped some wings to her arms, she would be able to fly."

"That would be if she let you strap wings to her arms," Emily giggled. "I doubt she would."

"Same, but it's a good theory," Mike nodded. He looked down at Emily, "So, why does the plane remind you of Serena. She's probably back at the Gate by now."

"I know," Emily breathed, "I know it wasn't her plane… but… she had to take a plane back. I wonder if she made it okay."

"I'm sure she did," Mike gave her a gentle and reassuring squeeze. "I checked her flight online. She landed right on time."

He saw Emily tilt her head upwards and smiled, "What? I wanted to make sure she was okay. I didn't want you to have to worry. I know how much you hate flying."

"Do you think she opened my present?" Emily asked. Mike shook his head. When Serena had left, Emily had told him all about the gift she had made for her sister. She was still a little shaken up by Serena's attacks, but Emily didn't want her sister to leave while things were still unresolved. Serena was her sister, no matter what, and Emily would always side with her sister.

"I think she kept her promise to you, Em," he told her. There was a pause in conversation once Emily nodded in agreement with Mike. Serena wasn't prone to breaking Emily's trust, but given recent events, Mike wasn't surprised Emily had her doubts.

He rubbed his hand along her back soothingly before he let out another laugh. Emily felt the sudden rise and fall of his chest, and heard the laughter echoing inside his body. She looked at him.

"What?"

"I was just thinking about how you never cease to surprise me," he said as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I mean, I was pretty stunned when you stood up to Jayden and saved Dekker… I can't imagine what was going through Jayden's head."

"I couldn't let Jayden kill him," Emily shrugged her shoulders, "It wouldn't have been fair. He saved Serena. Whether you're still mad at her or not, she's one of us. We all owe him for that."

"Only you would think killing him in that moment wasn't fair," he smiled at her, "You do remember what he did before that? Specifically, what he did to you."

"I still hate him for it," Emily nodded, "but he saved Serena's life. He came through for me and her when Jayden and the others didn't. "It wouldn't have been right."

"You left me out," Mike pointed out with a grin. Emily smiled and nodded.

"I never blamed you," she told him. "You were out there all night with me looking for her. I know you were the one who took me home and got me to the airport, but you're the only person who tried… sorry for snapping at you those times after we got home."

"Don't apologize," Mike said, "You have nothing to apologize for. As far as we knew Serena was dead. You had every right to be angry and irritable."

"Still, I don't like being mad," Emily buried her face into Mike's shoulder. It tickled him for a moment as she shifted in his arms, but that gave him an idea. Just as she got comfortable again he tickled her sides. A squeal escaped her lips as she bounced and propped herself up with her hands. She looked at Mike with an accusing, yet playful glare as he sat up and grabbed her.

"I know what will make you happy," he growled playfully. He rolled in the dirt with her until he was lying on top of her, his face only inches from hers.

Emily pressed her hands into his chest as she laughed, "Michael! Get off!"

"Mike doesn't respond to demands," Mike teased, "Only kisses."

Emily leaned forward and gave Mike a quick peck on the lips. He wasn't satisfied, though.

"I think we can do better than that," he smirked. Now it was his turn to lean in and he pulled Emily into a deep kiss.

-Samurai-

In the lake, Kevin and Mia were having a great time in the water as they splashed and dunked each other. They were soaking wet and without a change of clothes, but that didn't bother them. It had been a long time since they had the chance to enjoy each other's company and they were going to take full advantage of the little time they had now.

Kevin grabbed Mia around the waist and threw her into the water, ignoring Scruffy as the dog barked in her defence. He knew they were only playing, but he wanted to play as well and he wanted to be on Mia's team. Kevin was almost convinced Mia had dog treats stashed somewhere in her pockets and that was how she was controlling the dog.

Mia surfaced, breathing deeply and laughing hysterically as she brushed the hair out of her face. It stuck to the side of her head, and she knew it was going to take hours to fix, but she still saw Kevin looking at her with the same loving gaze he always gave her.

"You're going to pay for that," she laughed and lunged for him. Kevin was faster though and he jumped out of her way, letting her splash into the water again.

Mia once again surfaced and tried her luck again and again, but Kevin continued to avoid her wrath. It was all fun and games and both she and Kevin were having the time of their lives until Mia's foot landed awkwardly on a rock under the water, catching her by surprised. She gasped as she went under, breathing in water. The shock of the fall alone was enough to scare her stiff, but the sudden intake of water really pushed her over the edge.

Kevin, unaware Mia had slipped, continued to laugh as he waited for her to come up and try again. This time, though, he was going to catch her and never let her go, but the seconds ticked away slowly, and after about a minute, Kevin realised Mia wasn't about to get up anytime soon.

"Mia…" he called nervously as he approached the spot where she went under hesitantly, hoping this was just a joke and she would jump out at him and grab him, but as he got in closer he could make out her body floating just under the surface of the water. Quickly, he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her out of the water completely.

Suddenly revived, Mia was coughing up a storm as her lungs tried to clear out the water. She clutched onto her saviour tightly as he carried her back to shore.

Scruffy bounced along behind the couple, worried for the pink Ranger. Kevin was thankful the dog was there as he set Mia down in the grass. Scruffy was instantly by her side, there to offer her comfort.

"What happened?" Kevin asked as he sat down with her and held her close. She seemed fine for the most part, just shaken up. "Are you okay?"

Mia nodded but waited until the coughing subsided before she answered, "Slipped."

Kevin looked out to the lake, "Uh, yeah, it can get kind of slippery under the water. But are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?"

He checked her head quickly for any cuts or scratched as Mia leaned into him.

"I don't think so," she told him, "That just never happened before. I'm not exactly prone to falling."

"Accidents happen," Kevin nodded his head. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Mia buried herself in his body and nodded her head slowly, "Yeah."

"Okay then," Kevin kissed the top of her head and reached to the side of his pants to untie Scruffy's leash. He hooked the leash back onto the dog and wrapped it around his wrist before lifting Mia in his arms, "How about we go home and dry off before one of us gets sick?"

"Mike and Emily…"

"We'll bring them home, don't worry," Kevin laughed, "I'm not going to leave them here."

Mia wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his body, "Thank you, Kevin."

"I'm your boyfriend," he smiled, "It's what I do."


	119. Training

"You drowned!" Mike was still laughing as he opened the front door to the Shiba house and he and the others walked inside. "The swimmer's girlfriend drowned."

"Almost drowned," Kevin corrected him and he would have slapped Mike long ago for laughing at the horrific event, but he had refused to let go of Mia even for a moment, choosing to comfort her over scolding the insensitive green Ranger.

But Mike was having too much fun with Mia's misfortune and finally it earned him a slap and a disappointed look from Emily.

"It's not funny," she told him and he instantly shut up. Emily glared at him for a few more moments to make sure he got the message before redirecting her attention to Mia. She smiled sympathetically, "I'll get you a towel and a change of clothes."

"Thanks, Emy," Mia nodded as she walked into the common room with Kevin still by her side. Jayden and Antonio were already there, playing with the lion Zord and Octozord when they saw Mike and a wet Mia and Kevin were home. The frowned and checked the time.

"You guys still have about an hour left before training starts," Jayden commented, "I thought you would take full advantage of…"

"Mia drowned," Mike explained and he shot Antonio and Jayden and look, "And don't laugh. It's not funny."

"Of course not," Antonio turned to Mia, "Are you okay?"

"Better now," Mia nodded and smiled so Antonio and Jayden wouldn't worry. "Kevin pulled me out of the water before anything could happen."

"It could have happened to anyone," Kevin assured her, "Nobody ever thinks it might happen to them until it does."

"She was lucky you were there, dude," Mike said. "I mean, you being a trained swimmer and all. You probably know all about that stuff."

"I took a few CPR and first aid courses," Kevin shrugged, "No big deal. She didn't need it."

"Will you be okay to train tonight?" Jayden asked her, "It's fine if…"

"I'm okay," Mia promised. She was getting a little annoyed with all the attention. She wanted to forget about the accident as soon as possible, but she knew her friends were just concerned. "I'll be fine for training, Jay, thanks."

"Here," Emily bounced back inside the room with two towels and both Mia's and Kevin's training uniforms, "I got both of you your stuff. I figured Kevin would want to dry off as well."

"Thanks, Em," Kevin nodded and took the blue towel and his training uniform while Mia grabbed hers. He looked at his girlfriend, "Do you want to get changed first?"

"You can leave your wet clothes in the bathtub," Emily told them before shooting Mike a look, "Mike will do the laundry later, right Mike?"

"Aw, man…" Mike muttered.

"Training's in an hour," Jayden reminded his team as he collected his folding Zord and started to head back to his room. "If someone's late we'll all train until _I_ pass out from exhaustion."

-Samurai-

It had been a while since his duel with Jayden, but Dekker wasn't satisfied with the results. It wasn't because he had lost, but because the battle wasn't over. Sure, Jayden had overpowered him, and the only reason Dekker was still alive to tell his tragic tale was because the yellow Ranger had spared his life, but Dekker wanted a duel to the death. There was only enough room on this planet for one powerful warrior.

It would take some time for his wounds to heal as a result of his battle, and though his Nighlok-life and Urumasa would repair most of the damage quickly, they couldn't perform miracles.

He leaned against a tree while holding his ribs. They, along with the rest of his body, hurt like never before, but he was sure he was going to recover. He was sure he would see the red Ranger again, as well as those other annoying Rangers. As long as he still lived and breathed he would search for the ultimate duel.

But first, he needed help. He looked around at the trees until he saw one with a hole in the trunk. He smirked to himself before reaching out. He would never go to Master Xandred. He would be laughed right out of the Netherworld if he asked for the Master's help. They weren't exactly allies. In fact, Dekker had already ruined a few of Master Xandred's plans by interfering and protecting the red Ranger from harm.

But, by using the portal, he could travel to the one place where he would be taken in, whether she wanted to see him again or not. He was a defeated man in this state, but he didn't have anything to lose. If she argued, he would gladly fight her until she surrendered. Once that was done, Dekker would train with her and her many servants until he was recovered and was ready for his match against the red Ranger and the others.

"I will be back, red Ranger," he whispered before disappearing into the portal.

-Samurai-

"You all did well today," Jayden smiled to his team, offering them a few words of encouragement as their training came to an end. They had worked around dinner, pausing their workout for a few minutes to eat their food before picking up right where they left off and training until long after darkness fell over the Shiba house.

Mike was lying on his back on the mat. He was out of breath, sore, and tired. Nothing could move him from this spot; not even the comforts of his own bed. As much as he wanted to be sleeping on his comfortable mattress with his pillows all around him, he couldn't move or find the strength to get up and walk to his bedroom. If anyone wanted him moved, they would have to move him themselves.

He shut his eyes, "Teleport…"

"What are you doing?" Antonio asked Mike as he sat on the bench and finished off the water in his bottle. He heard Mike's mutterings and was curious to find out what the green Ranger was trying to accomplish.

"I'm trying to teleport," Mike said matter-of-factly, though the words came out as more of a mumble due to his refusal to put much energy into anything he did, including talking.

"Teleport where?" Antonio asked.

"Bed."

The fisherman chuckled and shook his head. With a groan, he stood up and turned.

"Unlike Mike, I'm actually going to bed," he announced to the rest of his friends, "I have to be up bright and early tomorrow if I want to get the other symbols into the black box."

"The other…" Kevin trailed off when Antonio left. He turned to Jayden thinking he would have an answer. He had, after all, stayed home with Antonio while the gold Ranger worked on the box. Surely he would know a thing or two about what Antonio was saying. "What?"

"Antonio successfully got your Symbol Power into the Black Box," Jayden said with a smile, proud of his best friend's accomplishment. Though it wasn't much, it was still a step in the right direction not only for Antonio, but for the team as a whole, "It drained him quite a bit though, so I told him to start on the other symbols tomorrow."

"Hopefully he can get the box working soon," Mia smiled, "Even if the Nighlok doesn't turn up, it'll be a good thing. We could use with a little practice with whatever's inside the box before we use it."

"Hopefully," Jayden nodded. He walked over to Mike and kicked the bottom of his foot, "Are you getting up?"

Mike lifted his hands in the air and looked at Jayden, "Carry me."

"Mike," Jayden chuckled, shaking his head, "You're too heavy."

"Yeah, right," Mike scoffed, "You run around swinging that big ass Fire Smasher like it was a twig, and I'm too heavy to carry."

"Get up or you're sleeping in the dirt," Jayden rolled his eyes.

"Looks like someone beat him too it," Kevin said. He pointed to the grass where Emily was lying face down, training sword at her side. Once Jayden had called it a night, she flopped herself down and hadn't moved since.

Mia had been sitting beside the yellow Ranger and reached over to poke her little sister. Emily let out a moan.

"Shh, I'm sleeping," she heard Emily's muffled voice say.

"You're going to be covered in bugs if you stay here," Mia told the young Samurai. Emily shrugged her shoulders half-heartedly.

"I grew up on a farm; bugs aren't a problem for me. Now shh, I'm sleeping."

"Will you get up if I helped you to bed?"

Emily nodded and pushed herself up to her hands and knees. She crawled over to Mia before letting herself fall onto the pink Ranger's back. She wrapped her arms loosely around Mia's neck and rested her head on Mia's shoulders.

"I'm ready, you can go now."

Mia rolled her eyes and sighed. Now she had no choice but to carry the yellow Ranger. She knew Emily wasn't about to let go. She winced, ignoring her body's demands to stay down as she got to her feet.

"God, you're heavy," she muttered to Emily as she carried her inside.

"No I'm not," Emily was too tired to walk, but apparently she was never too tired to defend herself, "You're just weak."

"Are you going to be okay?" Kevin asked with a chuckle as Mia walked past him. She nodded her head.

"I'll be fine. If I get tired I'll just drop her."

Kevin smiled and got up to kiss her before she walked into the house. When the girls were gone, he turned to Mike and Jayden.

"We should probably go inside too," he stated. "I get a feeling we're on borrowed time with that Nighlok. The more rest we get, the better off we'll be if he attacks soon."

Jayden nodded his head. He agreed with Kevin. It was strange that the Nighlok was just sitting around in the Netherworld instead of attacking. The longer he waited to surface, the more Jayden felt like he could turn up at any minute. If this went on any longer, he was going to have to start training his friends in shifts so they wouldn't all be tired like this at once.

"I don't know what game Master X is playing, but if he's trying to confuse and frustrate us, he's definitely winning," Mike commented while still lying on the ground.

"At least Antonio's getting somewhere with the box," Jayden said, "It's only a matter of time, now."

"I wonder what's inside," Mike said. Kevin looked down at him before getting annoyed with the green Ranger. He rolled his eyes and grabbed Mike's arm, yanking the green Ranger to his feet.

"Ah, Kevin, ow, ow, ow!"

"You call yourself a Samurai," Kevin teased his friend while giving him a solid pat on the back for good measure. Mike winced and glared at his blue friend.

"Yes, I do," he said, "And right now I'm a very tired and sore Samurai."

"Get to bed, guys," Jayden laughed. "We all deserve it."

"Can I get a piggy-back?" Mike asked while following Jayden and Kevin as they led the way back inside. Both red and blue turned to the Forest Samurai with a look.

"No."

"But…"

"No."


	120. Understanding Symbols

While it seemed Master Xandred had forgotten about the Nighloks, Antonio wasn't going to forget about the Black Box. Not only did he know the fate of the world depended on him getting it up and running properly, but after nearly two weeks of trying to crack the box, he was pretty damn curious about what was inside of it.

He had gotten Kevin's symbol power into the box, but not without a lot of effort, and it seemed Emily's was being just as difficult. He had spent all morning trying to get the earth symbol into the box, but it just wasn't working.

"How's it coming along?" Jayden asked as he walked into his and Antonio's bedroom. He carried a tray with Antonio's lunch. The gold Samurai hadn't come to eat with the rest of the Rangers, so Jayden thought he would be a good friend and he would bring Antonio his food. With all the work he was doing, he was going to need it, and Jayden didn't need his best friend to starve.

"It's not going very well," Antonio huffed, "I can't get Emily's symbol into the box. You'd think it would be easy."

"Emily is pretty stubborn when she wants to be," Jayden nodded his head, "I guess her symbol would be the same way."

"How was training?" Antonio asked, figuring he had missed another session in order to work on the Black Box. Jayden shook his head.

"I thought I would give the Rangers a morning off," he shrugged, "You guys were all pretty beat last night."

"They would like that," Antonio chuckled as he remembered Mike begging for a piggy-back the entire way from the training mat to his bedroom. The Rangers had all been very sore once Jayden decided to call it a night, and it was probably just as bad, if not worse, this morning.

"You can take a break too, you know," Jayden reminded his friend but Antonio shook his head. He wasn't going to rest. Not until he got Emily's symbol into the box at least. Jayden sighed, "Don't tired yourself out too much, then. Remember, symbol power is very draining, especially when you lack formal training. No one would blame you for…"

"That's it!" Antonio cried as he bounced out of his seat. He grabbed Jayden and pulled the red Ranger into a hug, "I got it! I know what I can do!"

"What?" Jayden asked, but before his question was answered Antonio was out the door. Jayden scratched his head and then looked down at the tray of food he had set on Antonio's bed and Scruffy; he was slowly creeping over for a taste. Jayden sighed, rolled his eyes and nodded, "Well, someone's got to eat it…"

-Samurai-

Having the morning off meant the Rangers could do whatever they wanted. Kevin didn't care what anyone else had planned, though; he knew what he wanted to do.

"Kevin, where are we going?" Mia asked as she pressed herself against Kevin's chest and held his arms tightly. He had his hands covering her eyes so she couldn't see and he was guiding her and she needed to hold onto something for balance. Given the fact that she had nearly stumbled a few times and she could hear twigs cracking, she could only assume he was leading her through the forest and the uneven ground wasn't her best friend at the moment. "We're not supposed to go very far."

"We won't," Kevin chuckled.

"It sounds like we're halfway across the forest," Mia said.

Kevin laughed again and shook his head, "No, Mike and Emily were just goofing off with their symbols earlier and they made a mess of the backyard," he told her. "Leaves, twigs, rocks and dirt everywhere."

"I'm not cleaning that up," Mia frowned under Kevin's hands and he smiled and kissed her cheek.

"You won't have too," Mia felt Kevin steady her into position and knew this was the place. She had no idea what place this was, but wherever he planned on taking her, they had arrived. She felt a little disoriented as his hand moved around her body while the other continued to cover her eyes. He was likely just setting up a few last minute things before he let her see where he had taken her.

"Kev," she giggled slightly, "I'm getting dizzy now… where are you?"

"Sorry, you know how the wind can be," Kevin said with a quick laugh. Suddenly, he pulled his hand away from her eyes and smiled as he gestured to the ground, "Voilà!"

Mia looked down and saw a blanket had been draped over the dirt and there was a little picnic basket sitting in the middle. Kevin took a seat and pat the spot beside him, inviting her to sit down. She smiled and quickly took her seat next to him.

"What is this?" she asked as he reached into the basket and pulled out a couple of plates. Kevin handed her one plate with a wide grin on his face.

"Well, our date last night was rudely interrupted," he told her. "You know, because of the accident."

"Yeah, yeah," Mia rolled her eyes, feeling slightly embarrassed about the incident now that it was more or less blown over. The one time she lost her balance and tripped was also the time that nearly killed her. Now that it was all over with, she was just relieved there hadn't been many people around to witness her "_slip-up"_ and that the only person who was there to see it had been the man who saved her.

"Anyways," Kevin continued, "I thought this would be our date part two," he reached into the basket again and pulled out some cupcakes. He had been happy to see them still in the freezer that morning when he went to search for something to bring on his surprise date. Thankfully for him, Emily hadn't had the time to finish them all from her birthday.

Mia looked at Kevin lovingly as he handed her a cupcake with pink frosting. She couldn't believe she had lucked out with him. For a man who was open about his hatred for sappy romance movies and novels, he himself was very romantic and was always willing to go the extra mile to get some alone time with her, which she loved.

She spent almost her entire life searching for her prince charming. The handsome young man who would sweep her off her feet, steal her heart and whisk her away to her happily ever after. Maybe all their dates ended poorly, but she was never happier than when she was with him.

And maybe, just maybe, Kevin was her prince.

-Samurai-

"Something just doesn't look right," Mike frowned as he stared at Emily's bed. Before leaving with Kevin, Mia had finished washing hers and Emily's sheets and had left them in the girls' room for Emily to make the beds after lunch.

Emily had enlisted Mike to help her out, figuring it would be a lot faster with his help, and a lot easier. For some reason, Emily and bed sheets never got along.

They had finished Mia's bed and made it to perfection. There wasn't a single wrinkle of lump in the blankets and her pillows were set perfectly on the top of the bed. The pink Ranger would be proud of the work the two youngest Samurai did when she got back from her outing with Kevin.

But Mike felt he wasn't getting the same level of perfection from Emily's bed as he was Mia's, even though the yellow Ranger insisted that there was nothing wrong with the way they made his bed.

He couldn't quiet put his finger on it, but there was something about Emily's bed that didn't seem right. In fact, the more he stared at her corner of the room, the more he felt there was something painfully important missing.

"It's fine, Mike, come on!" Emily said as she tugged at his arm. Mike wouldn't budge. This was really starting to bother him now.

"No… something's off… something's missing… it's…"

"Everything that's supposed to be here is here," Emily assured him. She didn't know why he was so bothered by the state of her room, especially when his was always such a mess. She tried to get him to drop the matter, but he wouldn't. He was determined to figure this out.

"It's still…" Mike shook his head and looked around her corner of the room again, "Pictures, clothes, snow globe, Scruffy's bed, your bed, pillows, stuffed puppy…"

Suddenly, he felt it. It was right on the tip of his tongue, but the more he tried to remember what it was, the further away it got.

So he went over the room again, this time in more detail.

The two pictures Emily kept on her night table where there, and they were still the pictures of Emily and Serena, and Emily and the rest of the Rangers. They were still in the picture frames Mia had gotten her for her birthday, so nothing there had changed.

Emily's clothes were still put away neatly, and the only article of clothing he could find that wasn't stashed away was her training uniform. Nothing out of the ordinary there.

The snow globe he had given her for her birthday was still beside her bed where she always kept it. The music it played was the same song her sister used to play for her on the flute whenever she was feeling hurt or upset, and Emily kept it by her bed just in case she needed to relax. Still, there was nothing different.

Scruffy's bed laid at the foot of Emily's, as it had since Mike and Emily brought the puppy home. Still, there was nothing new to report.

Emily's pillows were all organized at the top of her bed, and Mike had set them up himself, so he knew there was nothing off-putting with them.

His eyes strayed to Emily's stuffed dog, the dog Jayden and Antonio bought her for her birthday. It was sitting to the left of Emily's bed, where she always put it when she wasn't sleeping. Mike knew this because the last time he had helped her make her bed, Emily gave him a long speech about why her stuffed dog had to go on the left, and why Monkey the Ape had to go on the right.

Suddenly, it hit him.

"Monkey!" he cried as he turned to her.

"What?"

"Monkey," he repeated and looked around the room, "Where is Monkey?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "Nowhere."

"What do you mean? You love that thing. I'm pretty sure we all would have known if you lost it…"

"You would," Emily nodded her head, "but I didn't lose it. I know exactly where it is."

"Where?" Mike asked, curious as to where Emily could have possibly left her beloved Monkey the ape. Her sister had given her the stuffed ape just before Emily came to the Shiba house, and Emily cherished the misnamed toy almost as much as her flute. She would never part with it, so it was strange that it wasn't anywhere in sight in her room.

"Only I know where," Emily smirked. She knew this would drive Mike crazy, and eventually she would have to tell him, but for now it was fun to watch him drive himself insane looking for her toy. Mike glared at her for a moment before he started searching her room.

"It's got to be here somewhere," he muttered as he searched under her bed. Emily laughed and took a seat over on Mia's bed to watch the show. Mike got up from the ground and spun in a circle, trying to find another hiding spot for the ape, "Seriously, Em, where did you put it?"

"I don't know why you care so much," she giggled.

"Monkey the ape makes you happy," Mike told her, "We can't lose him."

"But I didn't lose him," Emily reminded him, "I know exactly where he is."

"Where?"

"Somewhere you'll never find him."

"Does Mia know?" Mike frowned. Emily shook her head.

"She knows as much about where he is as you do."

"Does anyone else know where he is?"

Emily nodded her head, "Yes."

"Who?"

"No one currently in this house," Emily laughed as Mike threw his hands up in defeat. Suddenly, he shot her a look.

"That's it," he told her before turning to her night tables, "I'm snooping around. If you won't give me answers, I'll find them myself."

"I have nothing to hide," Emily said with a playful smirk. She watched as Mike started going through her things until Antonio burst into her room.

"There you are," he said as he grabbed her arm and started pulling her away, "I've been looking all over for you."

"Antonio!"

"I'm working on your power symbol and I need your help," Antonio explained quickly. "I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner."

"Think of what?" Mike asked.

"It's hard to program your symbols into the box because I don't understand them," Antonio said. "I don't know how they work!"

"So," Mike shrugged, "You got Kevin's right?"

"Yeah, but it took me nearly two weeks," Antonio rolled his eyes, "One if you don't count programming the box to absorb the symbols. I'm not about to wait that long again. I only need an hour or so of Emily's time."

"Perfect," Mike grinned and rubbed his hands together, "Enough time for me to go snooping."

Antonio stopped and turned to Mike, wondering why he would have to go snooping through Emily's room when it suddenly occurred to him that he probably didn't want to find out. He shrugged his shoulders and pulled Emily away to get started on his lesson.

Mike didn't plan on snooping for very long, especially with Emily out of the room now, but he already had one of her night table drawers open and he knew it was the one with all of Emily's pictures. She had told the team a while back that they could have a look at them at any time and Mike was going to take advantage of that now.

But when he looked down he noticed the drawer was empty. He frowned and started going through her other drawers to find them. The pictures were nowhere.

"What the hell…?" he muttered to himself as he closed the last of her end table drawers and flopped onto her bed. "Where is she hiding all this stuff?"


	121. Kevin and Mia's Date

"C'mon, Antonio," Emily encouraged the gold Ranger. She bit her lip as she watched him make his final attempt at programming the Black Box with her symbol. She had taught him everything she knew about her symbol and the Earth Samurai legacy and she hoped it would be enough for him to understand how her symbol worked and how to get it inside the box so he would be that much closer to activating it and getting the team a new weapon or power-up or whatever was inside the box. She was now just as curious as Antonio about what would happen once they got the box working.

"I'm trying…"

"Just think earth," Emily reminded him, "It's strong, bountiful… down to earth," Emily chuckled at the last part. It had been a joke in her family for years.

Antonio rolled his eyes, "I get it, I get it…"

"Just… imagine where you would be if there was no dirt to walk on, no stones to build houses with, no soil to grow plants in… the earth isn't just part of my family. It's everywhere, and it touches everyone. You just have to know how to take care of it. It'll do what it can for you, as long as you do what you can for the earth."

"Preaching to me about going green?" Antonio took his eyes off Emily's disk for just a moment. Emily frowned at him and shook her head.

"Going yellow," she corrected him and gestured back to her disk, "Focus, Antonio, I know you can do it."

Suddenly, Antonio and Emily both saw the spirit of the Ape Zord fly out of Emily's power disk and jump into the Black Box. Antonio finally broke the connection between his morpher and the box and slumped forward. Emily caught him and slowly lowered him to the ground.

"I told you you could do it," she smiled and wrapped her arms around him in a congratulatory hug. Antonio returned the gesture lazily, too tired and too out of breath to put any effort into even the simplest of movements.

"I'm done," he panted. "Screw the Earth… that was hard."

"Get a good night's sleep," Emily chuckled. "I'll sure you'll be ready for this again tomorrow… or the next day. Take your time."

"Easy for you to say," Antonio leaned back into his bed, too tired to push himself up and walk the three inches to bed, "The entire planet is relying on me to get this done rápidamente."

Emily shook her head and smiled as she picked herself up from the floor and held her hand out for Antonio to take, "Does the gold Ranger want me to tuck him in for a nap?"

"Carry me?" Antonio pleaded jokingly as he took her hand. She pulled him up but suddenly felt his weight shift forward. She let out a yelp as Antonio fell into her purposely, expecting her to carry him into bed.

"Antonio!" she cried, trying to stay on her feet before they both hit the ground, "You're heavy!"

"I thought you said the Earth was strong."

"It is! I'm not! Get off!"

"How am I going to make it into bed, then?" Antonio frowned, standing up straight. He shot her a mock-hurt look as he crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. Emily rolled her eyes and laughed as she shoved him and knocked him right into bed.

"Get some sleep," she ordered him as she went to leave the room, "You used a lot of energy just now."

-Samurai-

Mia and Kevin were enjoying their picnic date the in the woods. They finally had some time alone and for once it looked like it wasn't going to end horribly. There was no one around to disturb them, no lakes for anyone to drown in, and there had been so little Nighlok activity that both doubted one would surface now.

The cupcakes were all gone and all conversation had stopped so Kevin and Mia could simply enjoy each other's company and profess their love to each other through deep-passionate kisses. Neither Mia nor Kevin were ready to take the next step just yet, and even if they were, the forest was not the best place to do so. But, regardless of what they did together, they were just glad that they could be doing it together.

Finally, they broke apart, neither wanted their date to end, but they knew they needed to start heading home soon, before they missed training.

"Promise me something," Kevin whispered to Mia as he started packing up the plates and she fixed up her hair. She gazed at him for a moment to show he had her attention. Kevin smiled at her, "Promise me we'll do this again."

"Duh," Mia chuckled and leaned in to steal another kiss. She had never felt this way about anyone before and she hoped Kevin felt the same. Of course, given the way he had set up this entire date for her, surprised her with it, and the way he returned her kisses, she knew she didn't have much to worry about.

"Good," Kevin smiled before pointing to the blanket that laid underneath them both, "Mind giving me a hand?"

"How much time do we have before training?" Mia asked as she got off the blanket and started to help Kevin to fold it up and stuff it back in the basket. Kevin checked his watch and smiled.

"Enough time to get home, fix ourselves up and get changed," he told her.

"Sounds good," Mia nodded her head and let Kevin take the rest of the blanket so he could put it away. She waited for him to finish and once he grabbed the basket, she took his hand. "You know, something feels off."

"What do you mean?" he asked her as they started to walk back home. He took his eyes off the ground for a moment and stumbled over a root that was sticking up from the dirt. He quickly glanced back to see what had caused him to trip while Mia laughed.

"Never mind, there it is," she said. Kevin simply looked at her before he too started laughing and he shook his head.

"Something always has to happen, huh?"

"Wouldn't be a date without it," she replied with a grin. She leaned her head against his arm, "Thanks for part two."

"Did you really like it?" Kevin asked. "I mean, I know dirt and forest isn't exactly our thing but…"

"After a while, I didn't even notice we were out of our elements," Mia said.

They arrived back at the Shiba house and shared one final kiss before stepping inside. Kevin was just about to head off to put the basket away when he and Mia both heard noise coming from Mia's bedroom.

"It's probably just Emily," Mia assured Kevin. "She does share a room with me."

"But she doesn't normally hang out in there," Kevin frowned. He set the basket on the ground, against the wall so it was out of the way, before he led Mia to the bedroom. He stopped at the door and laughed when he realised it wasn't Emily hanging out alone in her bedroom, but it was Mike, and he was staring at Emily's bed.

"You know, girlfriends are a lot better to look at when they're actually there," he said to the green Ranger, startling him. Mike jumped a foot in the air as he turned around and spotted Kevin and Mia. He gave Mia an apologetic look for being in her room without her permission.

"Sorry, Emily was here a little while ago I just…"

"What are you staring at?" Mia asked. She wasn't too concerned about the fact that Mike was in her room. Her side looked untouched except for the bed which had been made. As long as he wasn't snooping around or doing anything she or Emily would disapprove of, she had no reason to be angry.

"You sleep in here, don't you?" Mike turned to the pink Ranger.

Mia looked at Kevin before rolling her eyes, "Wow, Mike, nothing ever gets past you, huh?"

"Have you noticed anything weird about this room?" Mike asked her. "Like… something's missing… or… something."

"Can you be more specific?" Mia raised her eyebrows, "You're not giving me a lot to work with. Emily and I just had a huge clean up in here a few nights ago. We couldn't sleep."

"Did you happen to see what she did with Monkey the ape?" Mike asked, "Or all her pictures?"

Mia shook her head, "No… why?"

Mike pointed to the bed, "Monkey's missing, and so are all her pictures."

"You mean the pictures Emily keeps in her night table?" Kevin frowned. He glared at Mike, "Why are you going through her things?"

"Emily and I were just… look, that's not important. She says she knows exactly where Monkey is, but she won't tell me and it's driving me crazy."

"Why do you care?" Kevin asked his roommate. He shrugged his shoulders, "So she got rid of one of her stuffed animals. She's still got the puppy…"

"Serena gave her Monkey when she was sick," Mia reminded the blue Ranger. "Emily would never get rid of it."

"Maybe now that Serena's alive and well Emily doesn't need it," Kevin suggested. "I mean, why cling onto the past when you have a bright future? I know things with Serena were a little tense but…"

"That still doesn't explain the missing pictures," Mike pointed out.

"You know," Mia said, "now that you mention it, I have noticed Emily hasn't been looking through the pictures before bed… she used to do it all the time. In fact, she stopped the night Serena left."

"I think you guys are being paranoid," Kevin rolled his eyes and turned to the door, "Emily's not upset about these so-called missing items. Obviously it's nothing to worry about. I'm going to get changed for the training session."

As Kevin left the room Mia turned to Mike. Now she was just as curious as he was about where Emily's cherished items had disappeared to.

"You know, sometimes I wish I could read her mind," she said and Mike nodded his head. "It would make taking care of her a lot easier. I don't know how Serena used to do this."

"I don't know," Mike shrugged his shoulders and sat in silence for a moment before he turned to Mia and realised he hadn't seen her or Kevin in hours. He shot Mike a knowing look and cocked an eyebrow, "So… you and Kevin…"

"Shut up, Michael," Mia snapped quickly before he could say anything more. Mike shook his head as he walked over to Mia and pulled a twig from her hair.

"Do I want to ask what happened?"

"Mike…"

"Ooh… something happened."

"Michael, get your mind out of the gutter."


	122. Where Is The Nighlok?

Two down, three to go. Antonio knew he still had a lot of work to do on the box, but he knew he was getting so much closer to getting it up and running. He bounced with excitement as he sat in his bed and worked on the Black Box. After the draining day he had the day before, he decided he would take things a little easier this morning so he could spend the rest of the day with the Rangers. He had already gotten Kevin and Emily's symbols into the box, so he was going to make sure the programming had been done properly and the earth and water symbols were working together. He would get back to work on getting the other symbols inside later.

"I'm so close to figuring this out," he grinned as his fingers fiddled with the buttons on his Samurai morpher. "This is going to be the greatest hack job in…"

Suddenly, he was interrupted by a sound he hadn't heard in a long time. It was a loud, beeping noise and to Antonio it screamed danger. Unfortunately, it took him a moment before he realised what it was.

"Mierda!" he muttered as he hopped out of his bed and joined the others in the common room. He chuckled when he saw Mike had his hands placed over his ears.

"Has the Gap Sensor always been that loud?" he shouted over the blaring alarm. Jayden rolled his eyes and shook his head as he glanced at the map.

"Moogers in the plaza."

"Just Moogers?" Kevin complained, "After all that training, I was kind of hoping for Master Xandred himself to turn up."

"Just Moogers," Mia nodded her head as she glanced at the map over Jayden's shoulder. "A lot of them, though."

"Seems Master Xandred finally remember he's got a world to try and flood," Emily smirked, happy to be back in action after so long. She had never liked it when the Gap Sensor had gone off before, because it had been so long since there had been an attack, she was starting to miss destroying Nighloks. Anything would do at this point.

"What about Spider-face?" Mike asked.

"We'll see if he decides to show up," Jayden said as he led the team out of the house.

"Let's hope he does," Kevin nodded.

-Samurai-

Dekker found himself in a bit of a weird predicament as he walked back into his new home after finishing up his training with the servants. He didn't understand the point of keeping them alive, but for now he wanted peace, and killing any of them would only stir up trouble with his ally (a term she now used very loosely). Trouble he didn't want. He only killed when he found it was necessary, and so, he gave into her demands and kept her people alive.

But that didn't mean he was going to take it easy in training when he fought with them. If he held himself back, he would never improve. He knew he could take on the red Ranger, but he was slowly starting to realise that he needed to be an even better warrior because the other Rangers would always get in the way.

A smirk crossed his lips when he heard footsteps pounding into the earth behind him and suddenly a hand gripped his arm tightly and spun him around.

"What the hell is your problem? That's the fifth guy today!"

"He isn't dead," he shrugged his shoulders, "Those were your demands."

"Actually, my demand was that you get the hell away from me."

"I do as I please," Dekker told her.

"Then _please_ go."

Dekker pulled out Urumasa with one hand while the other grabbed her arm. He pulled her in closer and pressed the blade lightly against her throat. He knew she was always armed, especially when in his presence, but he was twice the warrior she was. She may as well have been holding a regular paintbrush in her hands rather than a weapon, as far as he was concerned.

"I need to be here," he whispered. "You will let me stay, and in return I will help you with your duty."

She growled and placed her hands on his chest, shoving him backwards. He let go of her arm and watched as she stormed inside. She was obviously very unhappy with the arrangements, but she didn't have much of a say in where he decided to live.

-Samurai-

Kevin drove his sword into the last Mooger's chest. As the monster fell and vanished, he wiped his sword clean and turned to his teammates. He let out a heavy sigh and shook his head as he powered down.

"No Nighlok."

"This sucks," Mike pouted. Following Kevin's lead, he powered down as well and glanced at the others, "Now I'm all pumped. I need to kick someone's ass."

"We'll have to stay on our toes," Jayden announced, giving the plaza one final look, just to make sure the Nighlok and Mooger threat was actually gone and there wasn't anything hiding in a corner. "Master Xandred's starting his comeback. Who knows what he's got planned after waiting so long."

"So, in other words, keep working Antonio?" Antonio asked his best friend. Jayden chuckled and shook his head.

"I think we've worked enough for today," he smiled, wrapping an arm around Antonio as he looked to the other Rangers, "We're already outside, and it's been a while since we've done something as a group."

"Are you saying…?"

"Yep," Jayden nodded and laughed when Antonio and Mike high-fived. "Fighting Moogers could count as tonight's training exercises, so as long as we stick together in case of another attack, I don't see why we can't enjoy ourselves."

"I'm so going to the arcade," Mike grinned, clapping his hands together.

"I said stick together," Jayden said. "We'll do something as a group."

"Movie?" Kevin asked.

"So you and your girlfriend can make out in the dark, no thank you," Antonio shook his head. He turned to Mike and Emily, "Same goes for you."

"What about the amusement park?" Mia suggested. It had been a while since they had gone there and she was itching to go back now that she had a boyfriend. She quickly looked at all of her friends to make sure they agreed. Just before she was about to announce the final decision, she realised she had missed Emily. "Where did Emily go?" she asked, looking around.

"Putt putt," Emily called from a little ways off. She pointed to a poster on one of the store walls, advertising the new miniature golf course in the city.

"Putt putt?" Jayden frowned.

"Mini golf," Kevin explained to his leader as he walked over to the poster to have a look. He couldn't remember the last time he had been mini-golfing.

Jayden furrowed his brow, "Mini golf… I don't think I've ever…"

"What?" Antonio, Mike and Mia gasped. Kevin and Emily turned when they heard their friends.

"What?"

"Jayden's never mini-golfed before," Mike told them. Emily's eyes widened.

"You've…"

"I've never even golfed…" Jayden shrugged, "Too busy training…"

The Rangers looked at Jayden, eyes filled with shock. They had all been mini-golfing several times before. It seemed so normal to them. They hadn't ever met a single person who had never mini-golfed… or golfed period… until Jayden, that was.

Emily stomped her feet on the ground as she marched over to Jayden. She grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the street.

"You're going to learn," she said, dragging him away. "I'll teach you if it kills me."

Mike chuckled and shook his head as he watched his girlfriend pull Jayden away. Mia, Kevin and Antonio looked to him for an explanation.

"Her dad used to set up a miniature golf course for her when she was little," he explained to them. "It was something of a pass-time over the summer when she was still too young to do much work on the farm. I don't think she was very good, though…."

"Well, I guess it's decided," Kevin said, turning back to Emily and Jayden. They were already on the other side of the street, waiting for the bus, "we're going mini-golfing. How bad could it be?"

The blue Ranger took off behind Jayden and Emily. Mike and Antonio were right behind him, eager for a game of mini-golf. Mia, however, didn't follow right away. She turned back to the plaza.

Something wasn't right. She was starting to feel it in her stomach. There was usually a Nighlok amongst a crowd of Moogers, but this time it was just the little monsters. Something was up, she just knew it.

"Mia!" she heard Kevin call and she turned to him. He gestured over his shoulder with his thumb to the other Rangers as they got on the bus, "Come on, we're going to miss it!"

She cleared her head of her thoughts. If there was something wrong, her Samuraizer would surely be going off. She raced over to Kevin, stepping on a few cracks in the pavement as she did while failing to realise one of them had a very faint glow.

As she got onto the bus she could help but feel like there was something stuck to her shoe. She lifted her foot to check for gum or anything that could be stuck to the bottom.

"Step in something?" Antonio asked her. Mia shrugged her shoulders and put her foot back down.

"Guess not."


	123. Mia's Golf Bite

"Holy shit, dude!" Mike cried as he covered his head with his hands and dropped to the ground, not even bothering to look around to make sure the others had done the same. His life was in danger enough without him sticking his head into danger.

"It's called putt putt for a reason!" Antonio called from the ground. He and the other Rangers had done the same as Mike when Jayden swung his club and the ball and club went soaring through the air. "You putt gently!"

"Sorry guys," Jayden frowned as he collected his things. He was blushing slightly from embarrassment. He could swing a sword flawlessly, but golf clubs were another matter entirely.

"I thought you were going to be the dangerous one," Kevin quickly glanced over at Emily as they got to their feet slowly. They kept an eye on Jayden as he tried for his final tap into the hole.

"I broke windows, bruised shins, dented tractors and scared the entire chicken coop when I used to play," Emily nodded her head, "But I was never this…"

"Fore!" Mike screamed as the ball jumped over the hole. It didn't fly as high or as far as the previous times, but he wasn't about to take his chances this time. He was worried that if he didn't yell out a warning, someone was going to get hurt.

"Horrible…" Emily finished. She glared at Jayden, "You suck!"

"You're not doing much better than I am," Jayden said, turning to Mia who was in charge of the score card. Everyone trusted that she wouldn't cheat and therefore she had been given the responsibility of counting strokes.

"At least her score's wavering around par," Mia laughed. "We did tell you it's the person with the lowest score that wins, right?"

"Yeah," Jayden nodded his head. "I'm just not used to gentle putts. Mentor always told me to put more power into my swings."

"That's no excuse," Mike said with a chuckle, "You're still horrible. Finally, something everyone's good at but you."

"Whose turn is it now?" Jayden grumbled, trying to get the spotlight off himself until the next hole. He knew his friends were only teasing, and it was all in good sport, but he wasn't used to being bad at something.

"I am," Mia said. She handed the scorecard to Kevin and set up her shot. She was currently in second place, behind Kevin, and if she wanted to pull ahead, she needed to get the ball into the hole in two shots or less.

Suddenly, she heard a thunk and a cry of pain and she looked up to see Mike rubbing the top of his head with his hand. She turned to him and shot him a look.

"I told you to stop waving your club around before someone got hurt."

"I didn't think it would be me," Mike pouted. Mia rolled her eyes before going back to her shot.

She took aim, hoping to get the ball as close to the hole as possible, if not inside the hole. Gently she tapped the ball and watched as it rolled along the grass, avoiding the obstacles. When it finally stopped, it was only a few inches from the hole. A slight tap would easily push it in.

"Nice shot," Kevin smiled. He knew this meant she would be stealing first place, but if he was going to lose to anyone, at least it was Mia.

"Thanks."

"Finish this one off, and we can go to the next one," Emily said excitedly as she quickly gazed over to the following course. It had three slides for the ball, and she knew that if she chose the right slide, her ball would go straight into the hole and she could get a hole-in-one.

Mia nodded and tapped the ball half-heartedly into the hole. It didn't take much skill to make that final shot.

"Yes!" Emily cheered as she bounced to the next course and got her ball ready.

"She's like a little rabbit," Antonio commented as he followed her. "A hyper little rabbit…"

Mia chuckled and reached into the hole to collect her ball. She glanced up at her friends as her fingers touched the little pink ball and watched Emily take her shot and making the hole-in-one.

Suddenly, she felt something pinch her hand. She frowned and pulled her hand right out of the hole. She put her hand in her mouth and looked down.

"What the…?" she muttered to herself. She reached for the ball again, collecting it quickly before catching up with the others.

-Samurai-

Dekker set down two plates. One for himself and one for his housemate (though he knew they weren't mates at all, he just didn't know what to call her). He figured he would be a gentleman and make dinner tonight.

So when he saw she was headed for the door, he quickly but her off and blocked her from leaving.

"Where are you going?" he asked her. "You cannot leave."

"Normally I would send one of the men out," she told him as she pointed out the window to where her servants were nursing their injuries, "but you beat them all up."

"You do not need them," he told her.

"I don't care what you think," she frowned, "Besides, they need me right now to find something to ease the pain. We used up everything in here already."

"How far are you in your Japanese lessons?" he asked her.

"Considering you knocked my tutor out cold when you got here and he's been in bed ever since… not very far."

"Then you will be unable to make your way around or find what you are looking for. You will be useless to them. Sit."

He turned back to the table, expecting her to follow him, but she crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. He didn't scare her.

"I'm going."

"And leave me here to do as I please?" Dekker said. He glanced over his shoulder, "Come, Guardian. The servants will be fine."

"Serena," she told him. "Se-re-na. It's not that hard to say. I know you have a strange aversion for names, but now it's really starting to piss me off."

"Sit," Dekker demanded once again. He pulled out a chair for her, "You and I both know you won't get very far."

"Just because I'm not tied to that chair doesn't mean this isn't a crime," Serena stated as she stared at the chair with hatred. "You can't keep me here."

"I need you here," Dekker told her. "I need to train."

"So go whack a few trees or go fight off some Nighlok."

"Xandred is calm," Dekker told her. "I can only hope the red Ranger is using this downtime to train for our duel."

"Jayden should have killed you when he had the chance," Serena muttered. "You're so lucky my sister saved your ass. If it were anyone else…"

"Let's not discuss the previous duel tonight," Dekker once again gestured to the chair, inviting Serena to eat with him. "Tonight, let's eat."

"Fine with me," Serena grabbed her plate from the table, intending to go to her room to eat so she was as far away from Dekker as possible, but Dekker grabbed her wrist before she could get away.

"Sit with me," he told her, pushing her into the chair. "I enjoy the company."

"I don't, and considering this is my house…"

"You must entertain your guest."

"Guests are people you invite over. You stormed in and demanded a place to say. I want it written down somewhere that I still refuse."

"You have not done much to get rid of me," Dekker pointed out.

"Doesn't mean I'm not planning something. Tell me, does the immortal thing still work if I stab you in the heart? Hey, what time do you fall asleep at?"

"Long after you do," Dekker smirked. He pointed to her plate, "Eat up, Serena. You'll need all your energy tonight."

"Why?"

"I wish to train and there are no more servants. Until they're as skilled as you, I may as well train with you."

-Samurai-

"Okay, final scores," Mia announced as she tallied up the points for each of the Rangers at the end of their mini-golf game, "Antonio: 53. Emily: 61. Jayden… should I even say…."

"No," Jayden answered, shaking his head.

Mia chuckled, nodded, and continued, "Kevin: 45. Mike: 52. Myself: 49."

"Sweet!" Kevin smiled, raising his club in the air, "Victory is mine!"

"Winner buys dinner," Mike called out before Kevin playfully shoved him.

"You're just a sore loser."

As the green and blue Ranger taunted and teased each other about dinner and the mini-golf game, and Emily and Antonio went to return the clubs and balls, Jayden turned to Mia. Now that she wasn't announcing scores he was interested in knowing what he had gotten. He was sure he would be back on the course one day and he would like to know if maybe that next time he could improve his score.

"So?" he whispered so as not to grab the other Ranger's attention, "What did I get?"

Mia looked at the scorecard while shaking her hand. It had been throbbing since she thought she felt something pinch it.

"107," she told him with a laugh, hoping he wouldn't notice her sore hand. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone score that bad."

"To be fair, my teacher came next-to-last," Jayden pointed out.

"To be fair, she knows how to play mini-golf. You're just unteachable," Mia teased and started scratching her hand to relieve the pain. Jayden noticed the scratching.

"You okay?" he asked her. Mia nodded her head.

"I'm fine," she lied. Her hand was really starting to hurt, and she wondered what could have possibly pinched her in the hole. All the other Rangers (except Jayden), had reached into the hole to collect their balls before she had. Why was she the only one to get pinched?

But Jayden saw the scratching wasn't ceasing. He grabbed the hand she was scratching with and pulled it away from her other one.

"It'll just keep itching," he told her before looking down. Mia's hand was red and when he looked closely he could see a mark on her skin between her thumb and index finger. "What did you…?"

"I must have scratched it or something when I grabbed the ball from the hole," Mia shrugged her shoulders, hoping not to make a big deal out of her hand. She hated when people fussed over her.

"Yeah, we all know how sharp balls and holes can be," Jayden frowned. "It looks like it hurts."

"I'm fine," Mia pulled her hand away from Jayden and stuffed both hands into her sweater pockets. "I'll wash it off as soon as we get to a restaurant."

"Are you sure…?"

"Positive," Mia nodded before brushing past him and leading the way to the mini-golf exit. Jayden watched her leave for a moment before turning to Mike and Kevin.

"Uh… any idea what we're doing for dinner?"

"I'll eat anything as long as Kevin pays," Mike smirked as he gave the blue Ranger a tap on the back. Kevin rolled his eyes at Mike.

"You're paying for yourself."

"Winner…"

"Will kick your ass," Kevin interrupted. He ruffled Mike's hair, "Don't forget that."

"Are you guys coming?" Mia snapped as she stood at the exit and tapped her foot against the ground. "I'm not going to wait all day."

"Dude, who pissed her off?" Mike whispered softly so Mia wouldn't hear.

"Mia, we need to wait for Antonio and Emily to…"

"Forget about them," Mia interrupted Kevin with a sigh, "Let's just…"

She trailed off as her head started to spin. She swayed from side to side for a moment before suddenly feeling herself falling. She was just about to hit the ground when a pair of arms grabbed her.

"Way too much sun for you, amiga," Antonio said as he lifted her back to her feet and steadied her so she wouldn't fall over again. "Maybe we should head home?"

"Good idea!" Mia shrieked joyfully. She turned and saw Emily standing next to Antonio. She grabbed the youngest Ranger's arm and started pulling her away, "C'mon Emy, let's see who can bounce home first! Bounce with me!"

"What?" Emily gave the boys a curious look as she was yanked away by a bouncing Mia. Kevin watched on curiously, wondering what had gotten into his girlfriend. Mike was shooting Mia looks as he found this very unusual behaviour to be both worrisome and hilarious. Antonio was too confused for words and Jayden didn't know what to do.

"Should we go after them?" Mike finally asked.

"I don't know," Antonio frowned, "part of me wants to see how far she'll go."

"Kangaroos don't bounce that much," Jayden commented.

Kevin rubbed his temples, "This is too weird…"


	124. Mood Swings

It was mood swing, after mood swing, after mood swing with Mia and the Rangers still had no idea what was causing Mia to behave so strangely.

She had bounced all the way home from the mini-golf course and for half the journey she had to pull a tired Emily behind her. She had so much energy pent up that even the bouncy, hyper yellow Ranger couldn't keep up.

But the minute they got home, the waterworks began. Jayden, Kevin, Mike and Antonio arrived back at the Shiba House only a few minutes after Mia and Emily, and they came home to find Mia sobbing uncontrollably. When they asked Emily about it, the yellow Ranger shook her head and shrugged. She was just as clueless as they were.

Kevin tried to comfort his girlfriend and figure out what was wrong, but before she could tell him she started to giggle, and the giggling didn't stop until she turned bitter and angry and she directed her anger at each of the Rangers.

Finally, she stormed off, demanding her friends give her some privacy. No one wanted to leave her alone, but Mia made a few threats and that was enough to convince everyone but Kevin to keep their distance.

"I don't care what you say," Mike whispered, though he knew Mia couldn't hear him, he didn't want to take any chances. While Kevin tried to figure out what was wrong with his girlfriend, the other Rangers were hiding in Jayden and Antonio's room, waiting for hurricane Mia to pass. He was sitting on Antonio's bed with Emily, while Antonio and Jayden were on Jayden's bed. "She's definitely on something."

"On what?" Emily asked before Antonio whispered into her ear. Her eyes suddenly widened and she turned to Mike. She slapped her boyfriend in the chest, "Mia isn't doing drugs!"

"Then explain how she was able to bounce all the way home?" Mike said. "Like, literally bounce all the way home."

"I still can't explain it," Emily rubbed her arm. It was still sore from when Mia had pulled her all the way home. "She can never, ever complain about me anymore, though."

"Something must have happened at the golf course," Antonio pondered aloud as he tried to think back to when Mia's strange behaviour started. He looked at Jayden, "I wouldn't be surprised if someone was behind this."

"You mean someone as in…"

"Don't you think it's weird that only the Moogers turned up?" Antonio asked his best friend. "I mean, Master X has a Nighlok who so far we've been unable to fully defeat, and instead of sending that out, he lets up beat up more of his Moogers just for the hell of it?"

"It is definitely weird," Jayden nodded his head before he and the other Rangers heard a scratching sound at the door. Emily got up, opened the door, and picked up her terrified puppy.

"Mia got to you too, huh?" she said to the dog as she walked back to the bed and curled up in Mike's arms.

"I guess this is the only safe place in the house," Mike nodded as he pet Scruffy to help soothe him.

"Antonio!" Mia's cries echoed through the house and struck fear into the fisherman's heart. Not wanting to deal with another round of insults and putdowns from Mia, Antonio bolted towards the window.

"You know, the weather's perfect for fishing today," Antonio said as he opened the window and started crawling out. "I think I could use a little fresh air… Adios!"

Just as he disappeared the bedroom door flew open. Everyone fell silent as Mia's angry glare searched the room for the gold Ranger. Scruffy took this as his chance to bolt as he jumped from Emily's lap and raced out the door.

"Looking for something?" it was either courage or stupidity that told Jayden it would be a good idea to address Mia directly. Her attention shifted suddenly to him.

"Where the hell is that fish-smelling _samurai_?" she asked, putting air-quotes around samurai. Jayden shrugged his shoulders.

"Gone fishing?"

Kevin walked in behind Mia and gave the Ranger an apologetic tone.

"Sorry, guys, I haven't been able to get her to talk."

"I don't need to talk," Mia snapped at him. She turned to Mike and approached him slowly, "What I need is for Kermit to put his stuff away before I slip or trip on something and kill myself!"

She shouted that last part in Mike's face, and Emily had to duck under her gaze to avoid the scream. She now regretted hiding in Mike's arms for comfort. Of course he would piss Mia off.

"I didn't do it!" Mike shouted, holding his hands up, "I swear, it wasn't me!"

"Alright, then I guess the comic books I tore to pieces and trashed didn't belong to you," Mia said with a shrug and she turned away.

It was obvious that Mia wasn't in her right mind, so Mike turned to Kevin.

"Dude!"

"I tried to stop her," Kevin promised. "She's strong when she's angry."

"I'm not angry!" Mia shouted as she spun around and glared at Kevin. Suddenly, her expression changed completely. Her eyes widened in horror and tears began to fill her eyes. "I'm so sorry…"

"Uh…" Kevin wasn't sure what had happened between now and two seconds ago, but he had a feeling she still wasn't herself and this apology wasn't truly coming from Mia… at least, not the real Mia.

Mia clung onto Kevin's shirt like her life depended on it, "I'm so, so, so, so sorry, Kevin! I didn't mean to yell! Please, pretty please, can you forgive me?"

"Of… of course," Kevin nodded his head uncertainly.

Mike leaned into Emily, "At least she's not angry," he whispered into her ear. Emily nodded, but she wasn't sure she was going to be very fond of the apologetic Mia.

The pink Ranger then turned to Mike, "Oh my god! Your comics! Mike, I'm so sorry!"

She made her way over to the bed and shoved Emily off the bed before throwing herself into Mike's arms.

"I'm so sorry!" she apologized again. "Oh, you must be devastated! It's okay, Mike, you can let it all out. I'm right here."

Mike shot Kevin, Jayden and Emily a look and mouthed: "help me."

Jayden, ignoring Mike's pleas for help out of fear of getting on Mia's bad side (or even her good side. Neither seemed very attractive at this point), turned to Kevin, "So, you haven't been able to figure out…"

"Nada," Kevin shook his head. "She just keeps hitting mood swing after mood swing. It's… MIKE!"

Kevin stormed over to Mike and ripped the green Ranger away from his girlfriend, breaking up kiss they were currently sharing. Mike, though, didn't seem to mind too much. As soon as he was free from Mia he jumped off the bed and ran to the other side of the room. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"Gross!"

Kevin turned to Mia, curious about how the kiss started. She just shrugged and pulled him in for one. For the first time, Kevin was slightly disgusted by Mia's kiss. Her lips had just touched Mike's. When they parted, she shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, it was better than Mike's at least," she turned to Jayden, "Come here, fire boy. Let's see what you've got…"

"I got to go…" Jayden pointed over his shoulder before trying to take off. Mia lunged for him, though and grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going, hot-stuff?" she asked him. She pulled him in closer, but before she could get her kiss from Jayden, Kevin intercepted. He grabbed Mia and pushed Jayden away.

"Okay, I think I prefer angry Mia over this one," he stated.

"Someone burn my eyes," Emily muttered. She had long since shielded her eyes behind her hands, but she knew what was going on around her.

"Dude, that's like being kissed by your sister," Mike was still scrubbing his lips with his sleeve. He always knew he loved Mia, but never in that way. He glanced over at Emily, "Em, I swear…"

"I don't want to know," Emily pressed her face into Antonio's bed, hoping she could disappear into it before Mia's romantic curiosity really started making her do weird things.

"I'm bored," Mia huffed and her shoulders slumped forward. "C'mon, guys, you're no fun. Let's go outside! Let's run around! Hey, where did Scruffy go?"

Kevin held onto his girlfriend tightly as she started bouncing on the spot with excitement.

"Mia, maybe we should…"

Mia suddenly broke free from Kevin and launched herself onto Antonio's bed. She grabbed his pillow and crawled to the foot of the bed. She looked down at Emily and grinned before smashing the pillow into the youngest Ranger.

"Pillow fight!" she called out. She started beating Emily with the pillow and the yellow Ranger tried to defend herself, but Mia was fast.

"Mia! Stop it!"

"Come on, Emy! You're no fun! Let's play!" Mia got a few more good hits in before she suddenly started to feel lightheaded. Her beatings with the pillow ceased as a pain started again in her hand. She looked down at it curiously and noticed the mark between her finger and thumb, "Hey, it's not nice to hurt people."

And then, just like that, she fell off the bed and hit the floor.

Eyes were wide, and for a moment no one knew what to do. Emily carefully reached her hand over and poked Mia's head. She wanted to see if it would wake the pink Ranger.

"Mia…?"

Kevin walked over to Mia hesitantly. He checked her pulse and made sure she was breathing before he scooped her up in his arms.

"She's asleep," he whispered to the others so as not to wake Mia. The last thing he needed was for her to wake up and the swings to start all over again. He was exhausted and he was sure the others could use a break as well. "I'm going to put her down."

"I'll tell Mentor about this," Jayden nodded as he followed Kevin out of the room.


	125. Imitations

"AHA!" Mia cheered as Princess Peach crossed the finish line and she was awarded first place for the tournament she and Mike were having on his game station. Once she had woken up from her sudden nap, she had challenged Mike. She told him she could beat him in any video game. Having already beaten Mia before, Mike took her up on her offer. He wanted to prove her wrong, and he knew he needed to keep her busy. The last thing he needed was Mia to swing back into angry.

While he was keeping her distracted, Kevin and Jayden were in other room, talking with Mentor about Mia's strange behaviour and what could have suddenly caused it.

Antonio had returned a few hours after he left. He had a cooler full of fish and a few extra bucks in his pockets from having sold the rest of his catch. He and Emily were in the kitchen putting the fish away to cook later, and keeping an eye on Mia in case Mike needed help.

"She… she beat me," Mike stammered. His jaw was on the floor and the controller was just about to fall from his hands. Mia did a victory dance around him, taunting him with her victory.

"You lose, you lose!"

Mike pushed her away from the TV, "Dude, you don't have to be a sore winner."

"Dude, yeah I do," Mia teased him, pushing back.

"It's just a game, Mia," he tried to tell her, hoping to calm her down. He couldn't believe what he was saying, but Mia needed to calm down. She wasn't being a good sport.

"Boo-hoo," Mia rubbed her eyes and mockingly wiped away a few tears, "Is little Mikey going to cry?"

"Dude!"

"Dude!"

"Stop it!"

"Stop it!"

"Mia!"

Suddenly Mia turned to the door, "Hey, Mike, what do you say we go out? This place is lame, don't you think?"

"What?" Mike frowned and shook his head. After she had kissed him earlier, he didn't want to be left alone with her. He didn't know what she meant by "go out", "Uh, Mia, Jayden and Mentor want us to stick together at the house, remember?"

"Oh, what, now you're Mister Responsible?" Mia asked. She poked him in the chest playfully as he rolled his eyes. Suddenly a smirk appeared on her lips, "Oh… I get it."

"What?" Mike asked. He looked down at her suspiciously. Mia winked.

"You don't want to break the rules with me… you would rather steal Emily away."

"You've got to be kidding me…"

"Rawr, Mike's a big bad dragon, here to kidnap Lady Slips-A-Lot and take her back to his cave so he can…"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Mike frowned. He knew where she was going to go. He had taunted her with similar jokes time and time again whenever her relationship with Kevin had come up.

"You know, she's still underage," Mia tapped her chin and shot Mike a knowing look, "And that makes you a dirty, dirty…"

"Okay, enough of that…" Mike grabbed Mia by the shoulders, "Why don't we go find Kevin. I'm sure he'll put up with you… come on, Mia, where's Kevin."

He pushed her to the other room and sat her down beside Kevin. He gave his blue friend a pat on the shoulder before heading back to the door.

"She's your girlfriend, dude," he said to Kevin, "You put up with her."

And just like that, he bolted out of the room before Mia could follow.

Mia, however, was too interested in Jayden to follow Mike. She stared at him until he was uncomfortable.

"You look creepy," she finally commented.

Jayden frowned, "What?"

Mia did her best imitation of Jayden, "It's like this. Ooh, I'm Jayden, I'm so dark and mysterious. I have a secret but shh, don't tell the Rangers."

"I… ahem…" Jayden cleared his throat and his eyes strayed to Mentor for a moment, "I don't have a secret… Mia, is something wrong?"

Mia crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back slightly. Jayden could swear she was still doing an imitation of him. Given the way Kevin was trying to suppress a laugh, he was almost certain she was.

"Just worry about yourself," Mia told him.

"Mia," Mentor called, trying to grab her attention, "Jayden mentioned a mysterious mark on your hand. Would you mind if…"

"I'm fine," Mia assured Mentor while still keeping true to her imitation of Jayden. "Don't worry about me. Just focus on yourselves. I'll be fine. I'm the great pink Ranger."

"Okay, she's a little weird, but you have to admit, Jayden, she's got you almost perfectly," Kevin smiled. He wrapped his arm around Mia's shoulder. At least this attitude change was entertaining this time. It still had him concerned, because Mia would never behave this way, but it was hilarious.

Mia shrugged his arm off her shoulder, "Are you guys just going to sit around here all day? Shouldn't we be training? It's 10:00! We always train at 10:00. If we don't, we're not going to be perfect Samurai."

It was Jayden's turned to hold back a laugh as he turned to Kevin, "Now she's doing you."

"This is serious, Jayden," Mia glared at the red Ranger. "There is no joking in the Samurai life. We have a responsibility to this Earth and we need to stay focused. We have to be the best."

Now that he was being mocked, Kevin didn't find this so funny anymore. He knew he was a little obsessed with the Samurai code and keeping true to his responsibilities and duties, but he didn't like to be made fun of by his girlfriend.

"Mia, can I see your hand?" he asked. During his conversation with Jayden and Mentor, they had come to the conclusion that it was possible that Mia's strange behaviour could be due to the cut on her hand. Jayden had noticed it right before Mia's mood swings had started, and throughout the day she had voiced how it hurt on and off, and normally when the pain really started to kick in was when she would faint or fall asleep suddenly. It was worth having a look at.

But Mia refused. She jumped out of her seat and raced to the door.

"I have an idea!" she cried, "It's going to be golden, just watch!"

Jayden, Kevin and Mentor exchanged a look before chuckling slightly.

"Antonio," they all nodded before following the pink Ranger.

They found her in the kitchen tugging Antonio's arm.

"… It's going to be huge and fantástico!"

"Mia, we don't need another Zord!"

Jayden turned to Emily, "What are they talking about?"

"I think Mia's jealous that Antonio's Zord represent his passion," Emily shrugged. Mia had spoken way too quickly for her to really understand, "Then she mentioned something about a wedding dress Zord… I don't know…"

"I can't build a Zord from scratch!" Antonio cried, trying to pull away from Mia, but she was clinging on tightly.

"Please! It's got to be big, shiny and super amazing! It'll crush those Moogers like the bugs they are!"

"Sedatives," Emily whispered to Kevin as Mia raced around the kitchen, pretending she was going so fast that the others couldn't see her, "I'm going to need them when it's time for them… I'll need a lot…"

"Speeding fish attack!" Mia jumped up onto the counter and pretended to toss fish at Mike as he entered the room, "Die, monsters! That was golden!"

"At least she's not making fun of me anymore," Mike turned to Antonio with a laugh. The gold Ranger shoved his friend away before turning to Kevin, Jayden and Mentor.

"Have you guys figured her out yet?" he asked. The trio shook their heads.

"It might have something to do with the mark on her hand," Mentor said, "But until she lets us have a look, we won't know."

"Mia!" Emily whined as Mia made an attempt to jump from the counter onto the table. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

"I'll be fine!" Mia promised before making the leap. Her jump was a little too short and she was about to fall, but Emily caught her. Both girls hit the ground, but the impact for Mia would have been much worse if Emily hadn't of been there.

Mia bounced up, almost as if unfazed by her fall. She hurried off out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and into hers and Emily's bedroom.

"I am not going after her," Emily said from the floor before Mike helped her back up. Kevin glanced at the bedroom door, then to Emily. He turned back to the bedroom.

"I'll stay with you if you don't mind," he told Emily. "I'd like to be able to keep an eye on her tonight. Maybe we'll get a chance to look at that mark when she falls asleep."

"If she falls asleep," Emily muttered as she followed Kevin to her room.

When the blue and yellow Rangers got to Emily and Mia's bedroom, they found the pink Ranger sitting on her bed with one of Emily's picture frames in her hands. Emily approached the pink Ranger to have a look at which picture she had taken. Emily was surprised to see it was the picture of herself and Serena.

"What are you…?"

"I'll never be as good as Serena," Mia mumbled. "She's not even a Ranger and she's better than I am."

"Mia, you're a great Ranger!" Emily assured her best friend.

"No, I'm not. I'm a stupid failure."

Emily frowned, "Mia, stop it! This isn't funny."

"You're not funny!" Mia retorted.

Kevin walked over to Emily, "She's been doing this to everyone," he told her.

Suddenly, Mia's eyes lit up and she darted around the room and bouncing on the beds.

"I don't want to fall asleep! I have so much energy! Let's bounce! Bounce, bounce, bounce!"

"Bed, please!" Emily begged as Kevin grabbed Mia from on top of Emily's bed and carried her to her own. He tucked her under the blankets and though she struggled, he still managed to get her into her bed and to relax slightly. He crawled in beside her and wrapped his arms around her, hoping to keep her in her bed until she fell asleep.

Mia slowly started to relax and she started to scratch at the mark on her hand. Kevin noticed and figured it must have been hurting her again.

"Let me see," he tried again to take a look, hoping for a better result now that she was calm. Mia could feel her eyelids getting heavy and she didn't mind when she felt Kevin take her hand.

"It hurts," he heard her murmur before her eyes closed and her breathing steadied. He sighed and kissed the side of her head. Something was wrong with her. Her behaviour was unexplainable and it wasn't like her at all. She was usually the calm, level-headed one of the group. He loved how she could always diffuse a situation and knock some sense back into people. She was also nurturing and caring. Her imitations, though hilarious, were completely out of character for her. She would never make fun of her friends.

He was going to figure out what had happened to her and he was going to get her back to her old self again.


	126. Studying The Mark

Emily could never hate Mia. She loved the pink Ranger just as much as she loved her biological older sister, only in a different way. She would never intentionally do anything to hurt Mia and, if it came down to it, she would gladly throw herself into danger to protect Mia.

But that was starting to change as the night wore on. Emily had only gotten a couple of hours of sleep before she was rudely awakened by Mia. The pink Ranger had crawled into her bed and shaken her awake, just like Emily had done to Mia in the past. But when Emily looked to her friend, she had seen the tears in her eyes. At first she was concerned. Whether this was just part of Mia's strange behaviour or if, for some reason, Mia was back to being just Mia, Emily didn't care. She didn't like to see any version of Mia crying.

So she started to comfort her older sister and tried to figure out what was wrong. Mia told her she was upset because Kevin was gone, and that was when Emily noticed the blue Ranger was no longer in the room. She knew Kevin must have had his reasons for leaving her, but Mia wasn't seeing it that way. She was being completely irrational and assuming the worst. She thought he was leaving her for good; that he was done with her, and it was tearing her apart. After about an hour of her whining, Emily was positive this was just another swing and she wanted nothing more than for it to end.

She handed Mia her stuffed puppy and climbed out of bed, promising she would search the house for Kevin and she would be back shortly. Mia cradled the stuffed dog to her chest and whimpered. It was obvious she was feeling broken-hearted, and normally spotting that look would have killed Emily (or sent the yellow Ranger on a hunt for the blue), but because Emily knew this was fake, the look was doing the opposite for Mia. It made her look pathetic.

As Emily left the room, Scruffy followed. Emily couldn't help but smile at her loyal companion as he stuck by her side until she reached the common room and found Kevin. Scruffy raced over to the blue Ranger, hoping this would be the start of a game but Kevin didn't appear to be in a playful mood. Emily pulled her dog away from her big brother and took a seat on the stool beside him.

"Mia's wondering where you are," she whispered. "She's in a weepy mood. It's really getting annoying."

"Sorry," he apologised. He wanted to be the one to take care of Mia, but he couldn't sleep. He had gotten the chance to look at the mark on her hand, but he couldn't figure it out. It looked just like a regular mark, and it could have been caused by almost anything. He knew when and where it had happened thanks to Jayden, but so far that information was useless. She may as well as cut herself chopping vegetables or even hurt herself in the battle against the Moogers. "I'm just trying to figure this all out."

"Well, you're not going to get far if you're tired," Emily said, noticing the look in his eyes and the way his body was slumped over, as if ready to collapse.

"I can't sleep," he told her. "Something's wrong with Mia and we have no idea what. We have to figure this out before it gets worse."

"Hey, I'm all for figuring this out," Emily nodded her head, "I don't feel like playing babysitter for the rest of my time here, but you still need to sleep."

"It's just… there has to be something to it," Kevin said, "something we're not seeing. That cut…"

"It's a little weird," Emily admitted, "but…"

"I know it's got something to do with her swings… and if Mia were… well Mia, she would probably be able to tell us… but she's not. She's some messed up crazy version of god-knows-who."

"And whoever she is, she's of no help to us," Emily sighed and nodded her head when she realised where Kevin was going, "or herself, for that matter."

"I just… I'm starting to feel really useless," Kevin said. He glanced over at Emily, "Useless like when the Nighlok took your spirit."

"What do you mean?" Emily frowned.

"The Nighlok… I don't know if Mike or Serena filled you in afterwards, but the Nighlok took your spirit and took off. He went back to the Netherworld and told us that after 24 hours you would never get your spirit back. And because he didn't plan on coming out of the Netherworld…"

"You guys had no way of defeating him and saving me," Emily nodded.

"We all felt pretty useless for a little while," Kevin said. "There was nothing we could do… I kind of feel like that again. I mean, I guess I should consider myself lucky Mia's not dying, well, not as far as we know, but she's still gone."

Emily looked at her older brother sympathetically before wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

"We'll figure it out," she promised him, "if something or someone did this to Mia intentionally, they're going to show themselves soon, I know it!"

"I really hope you're right," Kevin nodded, "but that's still not going to help me sleep. Would you mind staying up with me for a little bit… maybe we can figure something out?"

Emily glanced over at her bedroom door. She remembered promising Mia she would be back shortly and surely by now her time was almost up. She knew if she didn't hold that promise, Mia would come looking for her and surely she would start to stir up trouble. The last thing anyone in this house needed was for Mia's crazy mood swings to start up in the middle of the night.

"I'll be right back," she promised Kevin, "I just have to make sure Mia's sleeping. I told her I wouldn't be long."

"Thanks," Kevin nodded. While Emily went back to the bedroom he got his things all sorted. He had papers laid out on the table before him from where he had jotted down notes on everything he could think of about Mia's cut and her strange behaviour. He remembered his talk with Mentor and Jayden, and remembered almost every detail of what Jayden had told him about Mia's cut. He knew she had gotten it while reaching for her ball at mini-golf, and he shared Jayden's suspicions on how a round ball and a hole could cut Mia. If he could figure that out, he knew he would be one step closer to helping Mia.

When Emily returned, he shared everything with her. It took almost an hour to catch her up, but it was well worth it. Another mind helping him meant there were more ideas floating around, something he needed desperately at this point.

The sun was starting to rise over the horizon and they were still at it. Kevin couldn't help but notice Emily was about to pass out, but he appreciated that she was keeping herself awake for him.

Suddenly, in her sleepy state, Emily said something to Kevin that he wished he had thought of sooner.

"Don't the Nighlok and Moogers come into our world through cracks and holes and stuff?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, maybe Mia didn't cut herself… maybe something cut her."

"I doubt Mia would intentionally cut herself, Emily."

"No, I mean, maybe it wasn't the golf ball that cut her. I couldn't even manage to cut myself on a golf ball! But if she reached into a hole…"

"Emily, you're a genius!" finally it occurred to Kevin what she was trying to say. The Nighlok and Moogers did appear into their world via portal, and those portals were set up in the cracks, fissures and gap in their world. He had seen portals opening up between buildings, in cracks in the roads, between bricks… so it made sense that there would be one set up in a golf hole. "Something must have gotten her when she reached in!"

"Maybe there was a Nighlok after all," Emily shrugged her shoulders before resting her head on Kevin's arm. She was tired and looking forward to crawling back into her bed, but she had to get this done. Just like Kevin, she was determined to figure out what was wrong with Mia. She closed her eyes for a moment, but didn't open them again. Her breathing steadied as she accidentally fell asleep.

Kevin yawned. He knew it was time for bed soon. He had stayed up so late, Jayden was due to wake up any minute now for early morning training, but he couldn't bring himself to leave his work, not when he had finally just figured out what may have happened to Mia. Emily's theory wasn't proven yet, but at least it gave him something to work with, and a little hope that maybe, whatever Mooger or Nighlok caused this mess, they would surface soon and he could fix things for his girlfriend.

After finding out that Emily had fallen asleep on him, he slowly lowered her down and laid her across her stool and his. He draped a blanket over her before grabbing all his notes from the table. He set them in a folder and carried the folder into the kitchen so he could make himself some coffee. He was going to need the energy.

Scruffy, now up and about after taking his own nap, followed Kevin into the kitchen, thinking he was going to be fed. Kevin chuckled when he saw the puppy and put a little food in his bowl – enough to keep him full until someone else woke up to feed him a proper breakfast.

He finished making his coffee and took a seat at the kitchen table. He read over his notes again and thought about Mia. So far, aside from some attitude and personality changes, she didn't seem like she was in much pain. Occasionally she mentioned her cut hurting, but it didn't seem to affect her any more than her other battle scars which put Kevin's mind at ease. He assumed that if something was seriously wrong with Mia, he and the others would have figured it out by now. The Nighlok wanted to flood the human world, and the only way to do that was fill the Sanzu with the tears or sorrow, pain, misery and loss. If Mia was suffering, it would be obvious because the Nighlok would want her to truly suffer.

Finally, Jayden made his way into the kitchen. He had seen Emily sleeping in the common room but didn't make much of it, figuring she had just escaped Mia's crazy behaviour sometime in the night. But upon seeing Kevin, he was starting to wonder if there was more to it.

"It's not 6:00," he said to the blue Ranger, stealing his attention from the papers, "You're not normally up at this time."

"I couldn't sleep," Kevin told his head.

"Mia keeping you up?" Jayden chuckled.

Kevin shook his head, "No… she went out like a light once I got her to calm down… She woke Emily up once, but that was it."

"That's good," Jayden shrugged, "but then why are you up?"

"Because my girlfriend's acting like a psycho and we don't know why," Kevin snapped before quickly shooting Jayden and apologetic look, "Sorry…"

"You're worried."

"I was up all night trying to figure her out," Kevin said. "When she fell asleep I looked at the mark and didn't see anything unusual about it… so I started thinking about how it could happen."

"I guess Emily helped you out?" he gestured over his shoulder to the other room. Kevin nodded his head.

"Like I said, Mia woke her up."

"So, did you figure anything out?" Jayden filled a red mug with the leftover coffee that Kevin brewed before he took a seat at the table. Kevin nodded his head.

"Emily reminded me that the Nighlok come to our world through cracks and gaps," he said, "and you told me that Mia mentioned the mark happening when she reached for her golf ball."

"Golf is a bad sport," Jayden smirked.

Kevin rolled his eyes, "I think something happened then… like a Nighlok or something got her… marked her."

"It would make sense," Jayden nodded slowly, "it's not like Mia's going to be a big help in battle, and unless we figure out how to keep her at home, we're going to be too focused on trying to keep her safe. I admit it's a good plan on master Xandred's part."

"I know we should probably wait for the Nighlok to come back on its own, but the faster we can help Mia, the better… for all of us."

"Well, it hasn't officially been a day since the bite," Jayden said, "it's not unusual for the Nighlok to go back into hiding after first coming to our world. He's probably waiting for his mark to really sink in before he comes after the rest of us. I'm sure he'll surface again soon, if not today."

"I don't want to wait," Kevin grumbled.

"You don't plan on giving yourself over to the Nighlok, do you?" Jayden asked. He knew how much Kevin loved Mia and he wouldn't put it past the blue Ranger to turn himself over to the Nighlok to save her now that they knew that was an option.

"I would rather not," Kevin said, "but... if he…"

"He'll come back," Jayden promised.

"But if he…"

"We'll fix this," Jayden assured the blue Ranger. He placed his hand on Kevin's shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze, "Mia's tough. She'll be fine."


	127. MIA

Kevin knew it was probably smartest to stay in the house with his team, but he couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't watch Mia go from attitude to attitude, personality to personality without his blood boiling. Something was wrong and he needed to fix it. If there was anything he could do for her, he was going to do it.

Knowing there was a chance he had figured out what had caused these mood swings, he had to investigate, and he hoped that maybe, going out on his own would draw out the Nighlok who hurt her. He didn't care what happened to him. He was fully aware of the fact that he had no idea what he was facing. This could easily be one of the most powerful Nighlok he ever faced, if it did come out, and he knew fighting it single-handed wasn't a smart move, but he would gladly lay down his life for Mia. As long as she was safe, he would do anything.

He hated to leave her, especially when her mood swings put her in such a distressing mood. While some of her attitudes were fun, comical and cheerful, most were stressful not only for the team, but for Mia as well. She would find herself in fits of rage. She would be angry at anything or anything. Or, she would feel completely hopeless and useless. When she was hurting, he wanted to tell her everything was okay, but he knew he couldn't. It wouldn't be okay unless he fixed it.

Trusting that her Ranger family would take care of her, he set off to the golf course. He still hadn't gotten any sleep, but he was so determined to save Mia that he felt he didn't need it, and he wasn't going to rest until she was better.

-Samurai-

The boys knew Mia was strong, but they never imagined she was this strong. Of course, they never imagined she would be this angry or violent, either. At least it was going to teach Antonio not to crack so many golden jokes when Mia was around. Crazy or not, she was really starting to put the fear of God into the golden Ranger.

Jayden and Mike had to hold her back, but they were struggling to do so. The only reason Mia hadn't broken free just yet was because the two of them could still overpower her, if only just. Antonio was cowering in the corner of the training yard, keeping as far away from Mia as possible, while Emily was trying to calm Mia down.

"You know what Antonio's like," the yellow Ranger said. She stood between Mia and Antonio. She knew it wasn't the smartest place to put herself in case Mia did get loose, but it was the only spot where she could talk to Mia, "He's a funny guy."

"One more fucking golden joke and I swear I'm going to rip your…!"

"Mia!" Emily interrupted with a cry. Antonio's eye widened and he took another step back. He now had his back pressed against the wall of the house. He had nowhere to go now and he could only hope his friends could keep Mia from following through on her threats.

"Why is it me?" he asked himself.

Finally, Mia pulled her arm free from Mike's grip and wasted no time using her newfound freedom to turn to Jayden and shove him into the dirt. Mike tried to grab her once again, but she did the same with the green Ranger before grabbing a training sword.

"I have had enough of all of you!" she shouted as she glared hatefully at her friends. Antonio felt both relieved and panicked. She was no longer after only him, but the target still wasn't off his back. Now it was shared with his three other teammates.

"That's it," Mike jumped to his feet and grabbed his sword, "I don't care if she's my friend. If we can't talk some sense back into her, I saw we knock it in."

"Yeah, great, anger her some more," Antonio muttered.

"Mike, you can't hurt her!" Emily cried as she approached Mike and ripped the sword from his hands. She took her eyes off of Mia and glared at Mike long enough for Mia to strike. Mia slammed her katana into the small of Emily's back.

Mike, angered by this, tried to come to Emily's defence, but Mia was too quick as she slammed the butt of her sword into the side of Mike's face, knocking him down.

She jumped over the two fallen Rangers and charged Jayden before he could find a weapon to protect himself with. He was good in unarmed combat except when he didn't have the time to figure out how to disarm his friend without hurting her. Mia smacked him in the arm before delivering a swift kick to the stomach. Jayden fell to his knees in pain and tried to catch his breath again.

Antonio slowly backed away from Mia as she came in closer and closer. He could only pray this violent streak was a different swing than the one she had just come from, and she had forgotten all about her threats to him. He quickly glanced around the yard for a weapon, but the only ones he could reach fast enough where blocked by Mia. He would have to get through her to defend himself, which defeated the purpose entirely.

"I don't want to hurt you," he told her, holding his hands in front of his body protectively, "Let's just calm down and…"

He never got to finish his sentence as Mia smashed her katana into his chest and threw him to the ground before she ran off, away from the house.

Jayden got up to his knees and looked around at his friends.

"Are you guys okay?"

"Okay, so I'm never going to piss Mia off again," Mike was rubbing his face where he was surely going to bruise from Mia's attack. He reached over to Emily and helped her to her feet.

"That… hurt…" Antonio coughed.

"We have to go after her!" Emily turned to the direction where Mia had gone. The pink Ranger was out of sight, but she wasn't out of danger. She wasn't herself, and even if she had just taken out four Samurai Rangers by herself, there was no telling when another mood swing would occur.

The Gap Sensor sounded before the boys could agree with Emily.

"Dammit," Jayden grumbled as he looked at his Samuraizer, "We can't ignore this."

"But what about Mia?" Emily asked.

"I think I would rather face the Nighlok," Antonio said as he leaned on Jayden for support while he tried to catch his breath. He was going to have a nasty bruise on his chest come the next morning thanks to Mia.

"Let's find Kevin," Mike suggested, "Maybe he'll go after Mia while we take care of whatever's decided to pop in uninvited."

They rushed into the house and while Jayden went to check the map, Antonio, Mike and Emily quickly searched the house for Kevin. They met up with Jayden by the doors and shook their heads.

"He's not here."

"We'll find him later," Jayden shook his head in disappointment. He never thought Kevin would be one to go AWOL. "There's a Nighlok at the golf course."

"The golf course?" Emily frowned just before it occurred to her, "Kevin would be at the golf course."

"Why do you say that?" Mike asked his girlfriend. Emily shook her head.

"There's no time to explain it all! We have to help him!"


	128. The Snake's Venom

Jayden, Mike, Emily and Antonio found Kevin at the miniature golf course, already midway through a battle with a Nighlok. It looked nothing like Arachnitor, the spider Nighlok, which was both a good and bad thing. Good, because they didn't have to deal with the powerful Nighlok today, but bad because that meant he was still floating around the Netherworld, waiting to come back.

"Dude, Kevin's kicking ass," Mike commented as he skidded to a stop just before he and the others were part of the battle. The others all nodded as they watched Kevin fight, fuelled with rage and hate for the Nighlok he was currently facing.

"Glad to see you guys could make it," Kevin shouted to his friend when he got a moment to rest. The Nighlok crawled along the green for a moment before pushing himself up to his feet and racing back into a fight with Kevin. Kevin wasted no time as he swung his Spin Sword wildly, slashing the snake monster back several paces, "This is the bastard that marked Mia!"

"You don't have to tell me twice," Antonio nodded his head and morphed quickly so he could join the fight. He hated what this monster had done to Mia, mainly because he feared her when she was angry. The faster they could defeat him, the better off they would all be.

As he charged into battle, though, Kevin quickly turned on him and held his sword out. Antonio had to act quickly and jumped out of Kevin's way before he was met with the sharp end of the blade.

"Hey!" he called to his blue friend, but Kevin shook his head.

"I know what I'm doing!" he explained as he turned back to the Nighlok, "It's a snake… we need an antivenom before we can defeat him."

"How do you plan on getting that?" Mike asked the blue Ranger before he turned to Jayden and Emily, "I doubt Snakebite over there is carrying a jar of antivenom around."

The Nighlok finally stepped away from Kevin, clutching his stomach area with his hand as he doubled over.

"You'll never find the cure to my bite!" he growled to the blue Ranger, "And once I get you all, there will be nothing stopping us from flooding your world!"

Kevin glared through his helmet as he held his arms out to his sides and dropped his Spin Sword.

"You want to bite us all," he asked the Nighlok, "fine. Come and get me!"

"My pleasure!" the Nighlok raced forward, swinging his fang-like arms around wildly in the air as he got closer and closer to Kevin. Mike, Emily and Antonio took a worried step forward before Jayden called them back.

"Hold on," the red Ranger told his team, "I think Kevin has a plan."

"Yeah, he'll be eaten by long, skinny and ugly over there!" Mike nodded as he pointed to the snake Nighlok. Jayden shook his head.

"We'll trust Kevin," he said, "He's trying to save Mia… he knows what he's doing."

And Jayden was right. Just before the Nighlok went to take a bite out of Kevin's arm, the blue Ranger pulled out his Samuraizer and quickly drew up a jar and a cloth. The Nighlok had little time to stop his bite and sunk his arm into the cloth just before automatically realising his "poison". The cloth soaked up the poison and the jar collected the excess.

When Kevin thought he had enough he pulled the jar away, yanking the Nighlok forward.

"Now you guys can help!" he called the rest of his team as he took a few steps away from the Nighlok so he could seal up the jar to make sure he didn't lose any of the poison. Jayden, Mike, Emily and Antonio nodded.

"Now you're talking," Mike smirked as he morphed and leapt into battle.

Kevin powered down as he stared at the jar. He knew he needed a sample of the poison so he could examine it and figure out how to make the antivenom to save Mia, but he feared it was still going to take some time.

He looked at his friends as they finished off the Nighlok. He desperately wanted to deliver the final blow that would end the Nighlok's life, but he knew he needed to get to work on the antivenom as soon as possible if he wanted to get Mia back to her old-self. He clutched the jar tightly before taking off, leaving his friends for the second time that day without a word.

Once the Nighlok was defeated and Antonio used the Clawzord to end his second life, the Rangers all gathered together on the tenth hole. The noticed Kevin was, once again, nowhere in sight.

"Man, he's got to stop doing that," Mike muttered as he scanned the area.

"Maybe he went back to the house to help Mia," Antonio suggested with a slight shrug in his shoulders. Emily frowned.

"The problem with that is that Mia's not home," she reminded the fisherman, "Unless you forgot we all got our butts kicked _before_ the Gap Sensor went off."

"That just means we need to find Kevin and Mia," Mike sighed loudly.

"Antonio and I will head back home," Jayden said, "if we find Kevin there we'll tell him what happened and we'll help him with whatever he needs."

"That means we're going to look for Mia," Emily nodded and turned to Mike, "Any clue where she could have run off to?"

"We might be home late," Mike said to Jayden and Antonio as he shook his head.

"If she took her Samuraizer with her she should be fairly easy to track," Antonio said, "Unless she got herself into trouble."

"Given the state she was in when she left, I think that would be likely," Emily pouted. "We'll let you know when we find her."

"Make sure that you do."

-Samurai-

With the venom sitting in a jar by the computer, Kevin was surfing the internet back at the Shiba house. He had no idea how to make antivenom and needed to know if he wanted to figure out how to save Mia.

He had noticed her absence from the house, but assumed Mentor Ji was taking care of her. After all, it wouldn't have been smart for the other Rangers to take her into battle with them, and she couldn't stay home on her own. He took advantage of the peace and quiet to work quickly.

Unfortunately, what he found out about antivenom made his work a lot harder. Regular snake antivenom was created by injecting other animals, such as horses, rabbits or sheep, with small doses of the venom. The animals' bodies would create antibodies that would fight the venom and those would be extracted through the blood, purified, and then stored. If Kevin planned on using this method as a guide for his own antivenom, he was going to have to find a creature that was somewhat immune to the Nighlok's poison. Sadly, he hadn't met very many creatures who were.

He slumped forward and propped his elbows up on the desk before resting his head in his hands. It looked like saving Mia was going to be hopeless. Now, he could only pray that the Nighlok's bite would one day wear off and maybe Mia would go back to her old self on her own, though that didn't seem likely. She was only getting worse as time wore on.

Scruffy hopped up and placed his front paws on the corner of Kevin's chair, eager for attention. Kevin looked down at the dog and scratched him under his ear slowly.

"This sucks, huh boy," he sighed, "I finally think I've hit the jackpot with a woman and a Nighlok ruins it for me."

The front door opened suddenly and Scruffy was off, curious to see who was coming home. Kevin let out another heavy sigh as he followed the dog.

"Not that you care," he muttered, "You just want a belly rub."

He rounded the corner and saw Jayden and Antonio were the ones who had come home. He looked at them sadly.

Jayden smiled at Kevin, "Any luck?"

"Unless you know of a creature immune to Nighlok bites," Kevin shook his head as he leaned against the wall. He slid down until he was on his butt.

"What do you mean?" Antonio asked. "There has to be a cure. We just have to think harder."

"Think harder?" Kevin snapped, "Oh, you're right, I'm not trying hard enough already! Gee, thanks Antonio."

"You know what I meant," Antonio rolled his eyes. "We have the venom here, right? Maybe we can study it. See what it's made of before we assume it's incurable."

"But we don't know the first thing about studying venom… or anything," Jayden pointed out. Antonio shot his best friend a smirk.

"Espera un minuto. Is that the sound of a Samurai leader who doesn't believe in his teammates?" he turned to Kevin, "And what do I see there? Did Prince Charming fall off his horse? No wonder you guys left me to work on that Black Box. You would have given up before we left Japan!"

He grabbed both the red and blue Rangers by the arms and pulled them into the common room, "Come on, you two. Antonio's going to show you both the power of perseverance!"

-Samurai-

"We've checked everywhere," Mike whined as he slumped onto a park bench and kicked off his shoes so he could rub his feet. They were aching from walking all over town in search for Mia.

"Obviously not, or we would have found her by now," Emily huffed. She crossed her arms over her chest, frustrated with the lack of results. Mia could have been anywhere by now, and given she was alone; she could also be in a lot of trouble. Emily and Mike were praying she hadn't lost her violent streak throughout the day. On the other hand, they still had a reason to be concerned if she hadn't. The city was filled with innocent civilians. If the Samurai couldn't defend themselves against Mia, regular people wouldn't stand a chance.

"Well, where have we checked?" Mike asked, flipping open his Samuraizer. There was still a signal coming from Mia's that appeared on his screen, but it didn't give an exact location. It only helped to narrow down the search into the city.

"All the places she would have gone," Emily sighed. "The bakery, the park, the plaza, the beach…"

"Hey!" a voice in the distance called and Mike spotted a young man running over to him and Emily. Emily ignored it though, assuming she wasn't the one being called.

"Unless we overlooked her, she's nowhere there," she continued.

"Hey! Emma… uh… Emily!"

The man finally got her name right and Emily couldn't help but turn around when she heard it. She smiled slightly when she recognised Spike. Now wasn't the time to be social with civilians, but Spike did manage to cheer her up last time they met.

He stopped in front of Mike and Emily and doubled over to catch his breath. The two Rangers noticed he was sweating profusely, like he had just run a marathon.

"Dude, are you okay?" Mike asked, placing a hand on the young teenager's back. Spike nodded his head before looking up at Emily.

"Your friend," he stammered out between breaths, "gorgeous, jaw-dropping…"

"Yeah, Mia," Emily nodded. It was obvious from the little interaction Emily had seen between Spike and Mia that Spike had a huge crush on the pink Ranger. Emily could tell who he was talking about simply by his love-struck description. "Have you seen her?"

"She collapsed just down the road about half an hour ago," Spike nodded his head, "When people tried to wake her, she… well, she wouldn't."

"What?" Mike asked with concern.

"I figured you would come looking for her," Spike said to Emily, "I mean, she came looking for you last time we met so I just had to try and…"

"Where is she?" Emily asked. She didn't care how Spike had found her and Mike, or why he had tracked them down, she wanted to know where her Ranger sister was.

"The ambulance took her to the hospital," Spike blurted out quickly. "I saw you guys headed this way just as the ambulance took off with her."

"How the hell did we miss that?" Mike muttered to himself as he grabbed Emily's arm and started pulling her away, "Thanks for all your help, kid; we'll take it from here."

"Let me know if she's okay!" Spike called to the couple as they raced off. When they were out of earshot he muttered to himself, "Unlike the pink Ranger, I actually know what she really looks like… I bet pink Ranger is just as beautiful though…"


	129. The Cure

Jayden, Kevin and Antonio hovered over Mentor Ji's shoulder as the older man peered into the microscope and examined a sample of the venom Kevin had brought home from the Nighlok that marked Mia. They were hoping to understand how the venom worked and then using that knowledge to create an antivenom that would return Mia back to normal.

Kevin still wondered where Mia was, if she wasn't with Mentor Ji, but he had to focus on finding a cure for her before he started asking after her. It would mean next to nothing if he found her and didn't have the cure. She was still the woman he loved, but as long as she had mood swings, there would never be a relationship.

He tapped his foot on the ground impatiently as Mentor checked the sample over and over again. He wasn't giving the Rangers any indication about his findings – good or bad – which left them to wonder if he was finding anything.

"Come on Mentor," he muttered under his breath, but the silence in the room made his words loud enough to hear, "we don't have all day."

"One moment, Kevin," Mentor said. He looked up from the microscope and glanced over at the jar of venom, "Interesting."

"Yeah, yeah, can we save Mia or not?" Kevin snapped. Mentor pointed to the jar.

"The venom itself contains cells of the Nighlok's… let's call it DNA. Those cells are immune to the poison from the venom," Mentor said and a small smirk appeared on his face. Kevin glared at the Mentor.

"No offense, but no shit, Mentor. If the Nighlok wasn't immune to his own poison he would have killed himself."

"But, Kevin, that's exactly what we're looking for," Antonio smiled as he pat his friend on the shoulder, "Something that's immune to the venom!"

"So, the antivenom we need is paired up with the venom?" Jayden asked the Mentor. Ji nodded his head.

"As far as I can tell it is," he said, "However, it does not appear to be fighting the venom. I would like to see what would happen if we removed some of the poisonous cells, what's making Mia behave the way she is, and outnumbered the venom cells with the antivenom cells."

"Try anything, Mentor," Antonio encouraged the older man, tapping his shoulder to show his support, "We all want Mia back. The sooner the better."

"This will take a little time," Mentor told the boys, "Why don't you leave me to do it while you boys take some time to rest."

Kevin nodded and followed Antonio and Jayden out of the room, but he knew he wasn't going to get any rest. Not until he could figure out how to save Mia. He wanted to stay up, just in case there was anything he could do, and he wanted to be the first to know if Mentor Ji found the cure.

-Samurai-

"I doubt we have much reason to worry," Mike whispered softly to Emily as he held her tightly. They were standing next to Mia's hospital bed, keeping an eye on her as she slept. They heard from the doctor that she had fainted in the streets and when bystanders tried to wake her, they couldn't. The ambulance was called and Mia was rushed to the hospital, where doctors ran some tests to figure out what was wrong.

Mike and Emily already knew what was wrong and whatever crazy theory the doctors came up with was false, but they went along with it. How were they going to explain that Mia was bit in the hand by a Nighlok while on a golf course without freaking the entire city out? The civilians didn't need to know the Nighlok could strike anywhere. Nor did they need to know the Nighlok most likely went after Mia because she was a Samurai Ranger.

"What do we mean we don't have a reason to worry?" Emily asked. She pointed to Mia sleeping in the bed, "This isn't exactly the place where nothing happens. People die in here!"

"I know, I know," Mike nodded, trying to keep Emily calm, "But Mia's fainted on us before, remember? It's that mark on her hand. And she's woken up every time. The doctors just don't know…"

"What if this is worse?" Emily asked, "What if this time she doesn't wake up? We didn't see her faint… what if it was different? Maybe…"

"Freaking out isn't going to help her," Mike squeezed Emily comfortingly, "I know you hate being here but at least we know Mia's safe and she's not slapping us around with our training swords. Everything's under control, okay."

"The doctor's don't know what they're doing," Emily muttered. She pulled away from Mike and took a seat by Mia's bed. She took Mia's hand gently and ran her fingers over the mark softly. "They can't help her."

"Kevin will," Mike promised. He leaned over and kissed the side of her head, "I'll go see if the nurses can set something up for us for tonight. It's getting late."

He made his way to the door but stopped himself before he left. He turned around and looked at Emily and Mia.

"She'll be fine," he promised his girlfriend. "This is just a formality. I'm sure that by tomorrow Kevin will have figured something out."

-Samurai-

Kevin paced the hallway just outside Mentor Ji's room while the older man worked on creating the antivenom for Mia. Mentor had been keeping the blue Ranger as up-to-date as he could, knowing he was losing his mind, and sleep, over Mia's condition.

Kevin knew Mentor had been successful in his experiment, and when the antibodies outnumbered the venom cells, they easily destroyed the poison. Now, Mentor was just collecting enough antibodies from the Nighlok's cells so he could outnumber the poison and cure Mia. He hoped there would be enough, that the cure would work inside Mia's body, and that the cure wasn't too late.

Finally, Mentor Ji opened his door and Kevin quickly turned to the older man. He saw Mentor Ji held a syringe in his hand and quickly snatched it without asking any questions.

"There should be enough in there!" Mentor called down the hallway as Kevin raced to the door, hoping he could get to Mia quickly.

Suddenly, just as he was about to leave he stopped and remembered he had no idea where Mia was. He had left her with his friends when he took off to find the Nighlok. Just as quickly as he had run to the door, he raced to Antonio and Jayden's bedroom and began pounding on the door.

Antonio answered, looking like he had just woken up from deep sleep, which was probably the case given the late hour.

"Did you get it?" he asked.

"Where's Mia?"

"Uh…" Antonio trailed off as he turned to Jayden. The red Ranger was sitting up in bed and was given Kevin a look that told the blue Ranger he had no idea. Kevin's eyes widened in rage and terror.

"Will someone answer me?" he barked.

"Mia took off just before the Gap Sensor went off," Jayden stuck with the truth, knowing Kevin would probably be hurt and angry either way, "We couldn't follow her right away."

"Where is she?" Kevin demanded angrily.

"Mike and Emily went to find her after the battle," Antonio said, hoping to buy some points with Kevin by informing him that they hadn't completely ditched his sick girlfriend. "I doubt they'll rest until they find her."

"So you guys just…" suddenly Kevin heard his Samuraizer go off. He glared at Jayden and Antonio before picking it up and answering it, "If you're not Mia, you better know where the fuck she is…"

"Dude, relax," Mike's voice laughed on the other end; "Some civilians found her and took her to the hospital. She fainted, like she's done before, and they didn't' know what to do. She's fine, dude."

"Hospital and fine don't go together in the same sentence," Kevin snapped as he rushed back to the door. He wasn't going to waste any more time getting to Mia. It was bad enough his friends here were useless. "Just… put Emily on. She's got a lot more common sense than…"

"Emily's sitting with Mia," Mike interrupted Kevin, "She's worrying enough as it is. I don't think explaining things to you will help her stay calm. Just trust me when I say Mia's fine, okay."

Kevin took a deep breath to calm himself down as Jayden reached for the keys to his car. He hardly drove into town with it, but this was an emergency and they all needed to get to the hospital quickly. He turned to Kevin as the conversation over the Samuraizers started coming to an end.

"If you let anything happen to her before I get there…" Kevin spoke.

"I wouldn't be able to forgive myself," Mike finished for the blue Ranger. "Don't worry. Just get here soon."

Kevin closed the Samuraizer and glared at Jayden, "Well…?"

Jayden frowned, "Well… what?"

"Your car isn't going to drive itself!" he pulled the door open and gestured to the driveway, "Let's go!"


	130. Good Old Mia

Confusion was the first thing Mia felt when her eyes fluttered open and she found herself staring up at a ceiling that wasn't hers. For starters, she couldn't remember going to bed, and yet she knew she was in one.

Slowly, the beeping of the machines around her reached her ears. Again, she couldn't remember there ever being any noise in her bedroom unless Emily was bouncing on her bed and making the springs squeak, but that noise was usually accompanied by Emily's giggles, and the squeaks sounding nothing like this regular beeping sound Mia was hearing.

She looked around the room slowly and realised she was in a hospital room. She didn't know how she ended up there. Was she sick? Did she get hurt? The last thing she remembered doing was mini-golf. Was Jayden really that bad a golfer?

She felt something in her hand… or was it holding her hand. Looking down, she got her answer.

Kevin was sitting on a chair beside the bed, slumped forward so his head was resting on the mattress while he slept. It didn't look like a very comfortable sleep. Mia pulled her hand away from his and touched his shoulder. She shook him gently to wake him up.

"Kevin…" she called as he began to stir. He sat up and rubbed his eyes before turning to her suddenly and smiling.

"Mia! You're awake!"

"What happened?" she asked as Kevin moved his chair closer to the head of the bed so he could be with her.

"You don't remember?" he asked, stroking her hair and brushing it away from her face. "You kind of went all psycho Mia for a couple of days."

"I… I did?" it was starting to come back to her. Her strange behaviour towards her friends, all the different emotions she had felt.

"Don't worry, it's not going to happen again," Kevin smiled at her, "We defeated the Nighlok that did this and we discovered the cure. You're going to be fine."

As Kevin finished he leaned over and pulled Mia into a hug, relieved to see she was okay. He had had his doubts about whether or not the cure would work, but it seemed the others were right. Mia would be fine in the end, thanks to a little help, of course.

The memories of what she had done were really coming back to her now. She remembered everything: the mood swings, the outbursts, the tears, and the way she imitated her friends. She meant nothing by it, and regretted everything, but she couldn't help but feel like there was an ounce of truth to everything she had done. Like there was a part of her, somewhere inside, that was relieved she had gotten everything off her chest.

"I'm sorry," she muttered as she buried her head in Kevin's shoulder. He chuckled and rubbed her back gently.

"You're not still imitating Emily, are you?" he teased. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I… I made fun of Emily!" Mia pushed away from Kevin and her eyes went wide, "everyone has their insecurities and I…"

"Mia…"

"And I made fun of Antonio…"

"Actually, that one was kind of funny," Kevin chuckled.

"And Jayden and Mike!"

"I wasn't there to see what you did to Mike, but it bugged him," Kevin smiled, "I really wish someone had taped that so I could drive him crazy."

"And you!" Mia continued her panic rant as she realised what she had done. She grabbed Kevin again in a hug and held him tight, "I'm so sorry! I really do love you; even your crazy obsessive training! I do! I just… I don't…"

"Mia, relax," Kevin laughed. He squeezed her before setting her back down into the bed, "It was the venom talking. You have nothing to worry about. All's forgiven. We were just worried we would never get you back: the real you."

Mia nodded her head and tried to calm herself down, but then something else occurred to her.

"Why am I here?" she asked Kevin as she looked around the room, "What did I do? I don't feel hurt? Did I do something… what…?"

"Relax," Kevin told her again, "You passed out and some nice people called an ambulance. Mike and Emily found you here and that's how I found you. You didn't do anything."

"And the doctors…"

"Think you just had an episode," Kevin nodded his head. "They're probably going to make sure you're okay once they know you're awake and they're going to let you go home once they see nothing's wrong with you."

"Nothing is wrong, right?" Mia asked.

"Nothing's wrong," Kevin assured her. He took her hand, "I made sure of it."

Kevin leaned in for a kiss when the door flew open, he heard a gasp, and suddenly a yellow blur swallowed Mia. When Kevin's eyes were finally able to process what happened, he saw Emily was nearly squeezing the life out of his girlfriend.

"Em, she's gotta breathe," he reminded his little sister as he pulled her away from Mia slightly. He turned to look over at the door and saw Antonio, Jayden and Mike had also arrived. "You guys have perfect timing."

"We would have waited a few more minutes but Emily got loose," Antonio laughed. "Sorry we interrupted… whatever was about to happen."

"So, the cure really did work," Mike smiled. He walked to the foot of the bed and leaned against the footboard, "I'll be honest, I was kind of expecting Kevin to miss the vein or something."

"Mike," Kevin swatted the green Ranger and shot the younger man a look. Mike shrugged his shoulders and laughed.

"What? Unless you've practiced that's a pretty tricky thing to do… wait a minute… now I'm worried."

"About what?" Kevin frowned.

"If you got it right…"

"I had to get it right…"

"Where did you practice… no wait… who did you practice on?" Mike asked. He pointed a suspicious look Kevin's way, "You don't have a barn full of bodies, do you?"

"Mike…"

"Whatever," Mike smiled. He turned to Mia, "Either way, I'm glad you're back to being you."

"Yeah," Emily nodded as she glared at Mia from across the bed, where she was sitting at Mia's feet, "Don't you ever do any of that again! And don't ever come back to this hospital again! I don't like it!"

"Hey, I was only giving you a taste of your own medicine," Mia teased the yellow Ranger, "Maybe next time you'll think before you start bouncing around everywhere."

Emily launched herself into Mia's arms, "I'm glad you're back to normal."

"Me too," Mia nodded.

"Me three," Antonio added. He gave Mia a nervous look, "Uh… you don't actually want to kill me, do you? That was…"

"That actually was just the venom talking," Mia laughed, "though you could go easy on the golden jokes…"

"Noted," Antonio nodded.

"So, no more crazy mood swings?" Jayden asked. "No more bouncing, or anger, or violence. You're really just… you again?"

"Same old me," Mia nodded.

Kevin smiled and leaned over, finally stealing a kiss from his girlfriend.

"Good old you."


	131. More Imitations

_Author's Note:_ I can't believe I have to say this AGAIN.

I will not tolerate people stealing my ideas and passing them off as their own. Nor will I tolerate people stealing Always Have A Little Faith's ideas (btw, Faith, if you're reading this, you need a shorter pen-name, lol).

It has happened before with one author and I've cleared everything up with them, but recently it's happened again. One author (who had chosen not to be named after hours of fighting uselessly against me) took a scene from Faith's story and tried to pass it off as her own. As many of you already know, that's not something I take lightly. I had warned this author about her story several months ago and she promised me it would be different. For a while, it was. But thanks to another kind author on this site, I was reminded of the story this author was working on and I decided to check it out. I caught the scene and my blood boiled.

DO NOT STEAL IDEAS FROM ME OR ANY OTHER AUTHOR.

And, as it so happens, this chapter talks about stealing (this is more stealing the lime-light and it was written before this incident started, but I think it was a happy coincidence).

Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Kevin wouldn't let go of Mia as they walked along the sidewalk after leaving the hospital. They wouldn't all fit in Jayden's car if they wanted to drive home, so the red Ranger and Antonio were taking the car back to the Shiba house while Kevin, Mia, Mike and Emily walked home. It was a beautiful day for a walk, and after all the stress they had been through it was a good chance for them to clear their heads.

But Kevin was worried the walk home would be too much for Mia given she was the one who was in the hospital. He was scared something would happen to her and wanted her to rest as much as possible.

Mia felt his grip tightening as they stepped off the sidewalks and crossed the intersection. She rolled her eyes before resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm feeling fine," she told him. "You can let go."

"Are you sure?" he asked, "Did you get enough to eat before we left? Are you thirsty? Should we stop and…"

"Kevin, I've been lying in that bed for a day. Trust me, I perfectly fine to walk home."

"Are you…"

"Positive," Mia nodded. She pulled her arm from Kevin's grip and took a step away from him. She flashed him a smile and held her hand out, "Walk with me."

Kevin looked down at her hand before take it in his own gently and walking side by side with her.

"I just want to make sure you're okay," he told her.

"I appreciate it," she said, "but I'm feeling fine. This walk is helping."

"Well… if it's helping then I guess I'll stop worrying."

"Please do. I don't like worrying you guys."

"You're not," Mike teased her as he glanced over his shoulder. He shot her a smiled before she swung her arm at him and hit him in the back. He jumped forward, trying to get away. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"

"I was worried," Emily promised her sister with a smile. Mia returned the smile and nodded her head.

"Thank you, Emily, but you don't have to anymore. I'm perfectly fine. A little embarrassed about what I did, but I'm fine."

"Good," Emily turned back around and skipped ahead as something in the distance caught her eye. Mike chuckled as he let her run off. He turned back to Mia.

"She was really worried," he told the pink Ranger. "I can't blame her though. The last time she was in a hospital was when Serena…"

"Yeah, I realise that," Mia nodded her head and cut the green Ranger off before he could finish his sentence. She knew what he was trying to say. She knew that even though Serena was fit as a fiddle, Emily was still haunted by the fears and memories of her sister's illness. Being back in the hospital and sitting by her Ranger sister's side did absolutely nothing to calm those fears. If anything, they brought them all back. "But everything's fine now. I'm fine, the city's fine, you guys are fine… it's fine."

"You really don't like when people fuss over you, huh?" Kevin asked. Mia shook her head.

"I don't like the attention, no," she answered. "I take care of people. It just doesn't feel right letting people take care of me."

"Well, at least you know that when you need it, we'll be there," Mike smiled just before pointing over to Kevin, "Especially that guy there. He was determined to save you. If prince charming did exist then yours is definitely wearing blue spandex."

Mia looked up at Kevin lovingly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

"I know."

Mike furrowed his brow in disgust and turned away, "Gross…" he muttered as he rushed off to find Emily.

Mia and Kevin laughed as they watched him run. She leaned into him, enjoying his warm, strong arms as they wrapped themselves around her in a tight hug.

"So, do you really consider me your prince charming?" he asked her with a smirk. Mia looked up and nodded.

"Of course I do."

She pulled him in for another kiss, though it didn't last long. They heard Mike calling their names and were forced to turn when his voice killed the romance.

"What does he want?" Kevin groaned. He took Mia's hand in his and walked with her over to where Mike was standing just outside a large crowd of people. He was waving them over impatiently.

When they caught up to him he pointed over the crowd, "You'll never guess what's going on over there."

"This better be good," Kevin told the green Ranger as he looked into the crowd.

Mia turned to Mike, "Where's Emily?"

"She's inside," Mike pointed to the center of the circle of people. Mia could just see the top of Emily's curly blonde locks amongst the crowd.

Kevin started tapping Mike on the arm as his eyes rested on the reason the crowd had formed on the sidewalk. There, in the very middle, were six people dressed in impressive imitations of the Ranger suits. Only instead of keeping their identities a secret, they had their helmets tucked under their arms while they signed autographs.

"Mike, are those…"

"Huge fans," Mike nodded his head. He stood on the tip of his toes to get another look at the Ranger fans.

"It looks like they stole our… I mean the real Power Ranger suits," Kevin corrected himself before someone from the crowd heard him, not that anyone was paying attention to him, though. They were all trying to get an autograph from their favourite Ranger.

"You'll be surprised what mega-fans can do with a little fabric and a lot of time," Mike chuckled as he was reminded of the year he went as Spiderman for Halloween and had his parents buy him a very convincing costume. Had he not been short at the time, he would have convinced a lot of kids, as well as a few parents, that Spiderman was real.

"What are they doing?" Mia asked the boys when she saw the pink Ranger posing for picture with a little girl. She felt both flattered and a little ripped off as she watched. "Are they, like… having a convention or…"

"Didn't you hear?" a man turned to Mia, "These guys are the Power Rangers!"

"You're kidding," Mia frowned, shaking her head. There was no way these guys were the Power Rangers. They didn't seem nearly in shape enough to be able to handle the rigorous training hours and the Nighlok battles and Mia was pretty positive she was the pink Ranger, not the red head in the rather impressive costume.

"I wouldn't kid about the Samurai Rangers," the man shot Mia a look that told her he was being completely serious. "They showed us a few moves and everything! I'm convinced."

"Why would they reveal their identities, though?" Kevin asked the man.

He shrugged, "I don't know, but I guess I can't blame them. They've been saving us for quite some time. I think they deserve the glory, don't you?"

"Of course," Mike nodded, "In fact, maybe the government should start paying them for… OW!"

He turned to Kevin after the blue Ranger elbowed him in the ribs. Kevin was looking down at the gamer and gestured for Mike to shut up.

"Real heroes don't care about glory, or money," Kevin shot Mike another look as he said this. "They save people because it's the right thing to do, not because they want to be famous or anything."

"I think it's a good idea," a woman spoke up. She couldn't help but overhear the conversation. "Now that we know who the Rangers are, we'll know who to run to when there's trouble. It'll make the city a lot safer."

"Well… maybe but… maybe not…" Kevin shook his head in disagreement but the woman didn't listen. She turned back and pushed her way through the crowd, determined to get an autograph and a picture with the red Ranger. He looked like a hunk.

The man had also disappeared into the crowd to get a picture with the female Rangers. Mia felt a little uncomfortable as she watched the older man wrap his arms around the pink and yellow "Rangers" in their form-fitting spandex and he pulled them in so they were pressed against him for the picture.

"I think I've seen enough," she said to Kevin and Mike as Emily popped out of the crowd with an autograph in her hand. She showed it to Mike.

"It's weird," she also handed him a picture of all six fake Rangers that were being handed out.

"You got your own autograph?" Mike asked her with a laugh when he saw the autograph was from the woman in the yellow Ranger suit. Emily shrugged her shoulders.

"What? I know they're fake but I want to support myself."

"We should tell Jayden and Antonio about this," Kevin said. He took the picture from Emily, thankful she got it. At least now they would be able to remember what the fake Rangers looked like in case they got themselves into trouble. "I mean, this is fine, I guess, as long as they don't get in the real Rangers' way."

"What do you mean?" Mike asked. "I think this is pretty cool."

"Could you imagine what would happen if these guys tried to fight a Nighlok?" Kevin asked. "They could get hurt!"

"I doubt these guys would be brave enough to fight Nighlok," Mike rolled his eyes. "Those things freak me out enough as it is, and I know how to fight back."

"They said they would be helping out around the city and stuff," Emily told Kevin. "I guess volunteering. You know, earn themselves a good reputation and be superheroes. I heard some people mention how they saved a cat from a tree and stopped a thief from running off with a woman's purse. They aren't getting themselves into trouble."

"Still, something feels slightly off about all this," Mia glanced back at the fake Rangers. "I have a bad feeling."

"We'll talk to Jayden and Antonio," Kevin insisted. "We'll see what they think."

"You guys do that," Mike nodded, "I'm going to go get a picture of me with myself with my helmet on!"

"You're coming with us," Kevin grabbed the back of Mike's shirt and tugged the true green Ranger away from the crowd as they headed home.


	132. Fake Rangers

_Author's Note: _Well, seeing as the copied story has not been taken down, nor has she made all the appropriate changes, I'm going to make another announcement here in my author's note. Once again I will be warning all you authors about stealing ideas from other authors.

Firstly: It's rude.

Many authors on this site work very hard to get their stories onto paper. It's not always easy getting the ideas from your head onto the computer screen. Stealing from someone else, whether it's a published author or an author here on Fanfiction is wrong.

Secondly: It's disgusting.

Nothing turns me away from a story more than when I realise something is plageriazed. Not only did the author steal, but they aren't even creative enough to come up with their own ideas. It's flattering when someone loves your work so much they want to do something just like it, but there's a fine line between inspiration and plagiarism.

Finally: It's disrespectful

In most cases the "author" who copies someone's work is usually a fan who wants to try their hand at writing something similar. That's fine, go for it. But when you use someone else's story as a transcript for your own, you're going to get caught. When that happens, not only are you disrespecting the author, but you're also disrespecting the fans of the original story.

My Point? Stealing isn't worth it. With so many people browsing this website day and night, you're eventually going to get caught. When you do, please be considerate about it and respect the original author's wishes. I have addressed many people about their stories when I began to notice similarities between my work and theirs, and in most cases they have apologized and promised to be careful. I have no hard feelings towards them. In my eyes, they ended up doing the right thing. They realised their mistake, took responsibility for it, and took down their story or rewrote it to fix the problem. To those authors, many thank yous.

To my readers, I apologize for these long author's notes at the start of the chapters.

To the author in question: I wish that you would remove all parts of your story that you have stolen from my dear friend Always Have a Little Faith. We were up for hours last night skimming through your 17 chapters and we were picking apart the pieces from your story that were stolen. Unfortunately, there were so many we found that if we wanted to get it all, we would have to copy paste your entire story into a word document.

To answer your question (the one you asked after blocking me) No, I do not think it was coincidence. When I initially brought this matter to your attention, I tried to be as civil as possible, however, there was a hint of frustration in my PM because this isn't the first time it's happened. Your reply, and I quote: "Ya no what im not taking it down". That, to me, screams guilty.

Faith has politely shown you a few examples of where you stole her stories. While the ideas may (or may not) be different, you've taken her description and narration word for word and that will not be tolerated. It's clear where you've copy pasted her ideas because not only did you have the same typo as she did (which you did remove after she sent the email), but you also have the same writing style as she does, and then, when you get into your own "storyline", the writing style changes completely.

* * *

"So, you're saying there are kids going around the city telling people they're us?" Jayden furrowed his brow as he tried to get the story straight. He couldn't believe what his friends were telling him, nor could he believe that there were people who actually wanted to bear the weight of the world on their shoulders. It wasn't an easier task, as he already knew. He couldn't understand why someone would willingly take up that burden.

"I guess they figured they would take advantage of the fact that we aren't exactly open about our identities," Kevin nodded his head. "And it's not like the city has a reason not to believe them. Those suits they were wearing looked pretty legit. If I weren't me and I saw me standing there, I would have believed he was me… wait…"

"Dude, what?" Mike turned to the blue Ranger and shot him a look. Kevin shook his head and sighed.

"If I didn't know any better I would have believed them," he clarified before he confused anyone else. He turned to Jayden, "So what are we going to do about this?"

"Nothing," Jayden shook his head and got out of his seat. "There's nothing we can do unless we want to tell the world we're the Samurai Rangers. We're just going to have to let them be. Hopefully it'll all blow over."

He glanced around the room and saw the Rangers all had their jaws on the floor. They couldn't understand how Jayden could just ignore the fake Rangers like it meant nothing.

But Jayden had his reasons. A true Samurai didn't fight for fame or fortune. Defeating Master Xandred was their main priority, not exposing six teenagers as liars. As long as they didn't get in the way of the real Rangers, Jayden didn't have much reason to be concerned.

Mike rolled his eyes and turned to Kevin, "See, dude, no big deal. Now can I go take a picture of me with myself?"

Kevin narrowed his eyes at his green friend and shook his head, "No."

"Jayden," Mia called to her leader when she saw he was headed outside. She couldn't just let the conversation end here and now. She needed to know what they were going to do about the fake Rangers. "We can't just let them pretend to be us!"

"Why not?" Jayden shrugged his shoulders, "It'll take some of the attention off of us. People won't be trying to figure out the identities of the Rangers."

He cast a glance at the rest of the room, "Although, that doesn't give any of you permission to do something that would expose yourselves."

"Says the guy who summoned up a hundreds of pieces of paper with his Samuraizer in front of a group of kids," Emily chuckled. She held up the picture she had received from the six fake Rangers, showing each of their faces, "At least we know what they look like and we can keep an eye on them in case they get themselves into trouble."

"Yeah," Antonio took the picture and the autograph from her hand, "Good move getting this. The autograph, though…"

"What?" Emily shrugged her shoulders, "It's cool getting an autograph to you from yourself. See, the yellow Ranger signed it to Emily."

"Oh, the irony," Antonio shook his head, "If only they knew…"

Emily ripped the autograph from Antonio's hand and hugged it against her chest, "You're just jealous because you didn't get one."

"And whose fault is that?" Antonio teased her. "You could have asked the gold guy for one. How long would that have taken?"

Emily stuck her tongue out at the fisherman. He stuck his out in response.

"Autographs aside, the picture was a good idea," Jayden nodded his head as he took the picture from Antonio and set it down on the coffee table, "I'll find somewhere to put it. Meanwhile, you should all familiarise yourself with the imitators' faces. If we see them anywhere near a Mooger or a Nighlok we'll have to chase them away before they get hurt."

"Why do I see this going horribly wrong?" Mia sighed before getting up, "Whatever, I'm going for a nap. The hospital and the walk home tired me out."

Kevin jumped out of his seat, "Do you need anything? Water, a snack… I'll…"

"I'm fine, Kevin," Mia sighed, "I just need a nap."

"Are you…"

"Kevin, do you want to nap with me?" Mia asked, hoping it would shut him up. Kevin blinked for a moment as he processed her request and tried to figure out what would be an appropriate response considering all the other Rangers were in the room with him.

"Uh… sure, I…"

"Ooh…"

"Shut up, Michael," Mia snapped quickly before Mike could make a single comment. His eyes widened and he pressed his lips together tightly. Mia shot him another look before turning back to Kevin and taking his hand, "Come on. We'll go nap. I'll get my sleep, and you'll know if something happens."

"I'll be outside," Jayden told the rest of the group as he flicked his thumb over his shoulder. He knew the others would understand that he would be training and that they were welcome to join him if they wanted. He doubted they would, though.

"I'll go to the lake, I guess," Antonio shrugged. "Aside from when I went fishing to hide from Mia, I haven't really gotten the chance to just sit back and relax in a long time. It'll be nice getting away for a bit."

"Don't go too far from the house," Jayden told him, "And keep your Samuraizer with you. There's still a Nighlok out there."

Antonio waved his Samurai morpher in the air as he grabbed his fishing rods and headed off. Jayden turned to Mike and Emily.

"I guess that just leaves you two," he told them. "Do either of you want to join me?"

Mike chuckled, "Yeah, unless it's a scheduled training time, I'm not going out there," he shook his head. "Good try, though, Jayden."

"Emily?" Jayden asked as he turned to his youngest teammate. Emily shook her head.

"Maybe next time. Scruffy needs to go for a walk," she picked up the leash from the box of Scruffy's toys and raddled it slightly. The yellow puppy raced into the room wagging his tail excitedly while Emily clipped the leash onto his collar. She wrapped the other end of the leash around her wrist and pulled out a plastic bag from the box, "C'mon, Scruffy."

"I guess I'm going with Emily," Mike shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Jayden. The red Ranger nodded his head, not wanting Emily to head off into the city on her own. Of course, he was sure he didn't have to tell Mike to keep an eye on her. The green Ranger was her boyfriend.

-Samurai-

"What are you doing?" Mike asked when Emily handed him Scruffy's leash and hopped up onto a ledge. He rolled his eyes and laughed, "You're going to fall."

"Have a little faith," she smirked. She placed her hand on his shoulder for balance as she tried to walk on the narrow ledge. It wasn't too high off the ground, just high enough for her to stand about a foot taller than Mike.

"I do have faith in you," Mike chuckled, "and you are the kind of person who trips on a flat surface."

"You're mean," Emily frowned and swatted Mike's arm before losing her balance and falling. Mike was fast enough to catch her.

"Told you," he smirked. Emily stuck her tongue out at him as he lowered her onto the ground. When her feet touched the sidewalk she hopped back up onto the ledge, determined to make it the rest of the way without falling. Mike rolled his eyes, "Well, you're nothing if not stubborn."

Emily hit him in the arm again, "You're still being mean."

"You made me clean up your dog's poop," Mike lifted the plastic bag. He had yet to find a garbage bin on the walk to dump the bag in. "I have a free a right to be mean for another two minutes."

"Fine but…" Emily trailed off when she noticed six teenagers sitting just outside a coffee shop and recognised them as the teenagers who were pretending to be the Samurai Rangers. She grabbed onto Mike's shirt and started tugging on it while her other hand pointed to the teens, "Mike, Mike! Look!"

"Coffee?" Mike didn't see the teens at first but noticed Emily was pointing to a coffee shop. He shook his head furiously, "Emily, there's no way you're getting any coffee anytime soon."

"Not coffee!" Emily wrinkled her nose in disgust, "Look! It's the Rangers!"

"What?"

"I mean, the fake Rangers," Emily hopped off the ledge and grabbed Mike's arm. She started pulling him towards the shop. When Mike finally clued in he pulled Emily back.

"What are you going to do?" he asked her. "We don't have anything to say to them."

"I… but…" Emily sighed. She gazed over to the six fakes and nodded her head, "I guess you're right…"

"C'mon," Mike wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "How about we head to the bakery and…"

A beeping sound cut him off and both he and Emily looked down at their pockets. Thinking the noise was coming from their Samuraizers they grabbed the phone-like devices and pulled them out.

Mike inspected his thoughtfully when he saw it hadn't gone off, "What the…"

"Trouble," he heard someone shout from behind him and he and Emily turned around just in time to see the teenagers racing off.

"Uh-oh," he heard Emily muttered and his stomach turned. He was also worried about what this meant. Without looking to his girlfriend at all, Mike took off running after the six teenagers and Emily was right behind him with Scruffy by her side.

They chased the group of teens into the forest, trying not to be seen in case they needed to morph. For some reason these kids seemed to think they would be able to handle any kind of trouble that came their way. Even Mike wasn't that cocky.

He and Emily ducked behind a fallen tree and exchanged worried looks.

"What do you think it is?" Emily asked him worriedly as she grabbed Scruffy by the snout to keep him quiet. The dog looked up to his owner curiously.

Mike shrugged his shoulders and peeked over the fallen tree, "They're morphing," he frowned. Emily poked her head up.

"What?" she had to supress a laugh when she saw the teenagers pulling on their spandex costumes. It looked ridiculous when it was done that way. She covered her mouth with her hands and took a seat in the dirt, staying out of sight. Mike nodded his head in agreement and sat down beside her.

"Okay, we're so going to laugh at that later," he told her. "Right now we've got to…"

"Shh," Emily hushed him by grabbing his arm and squeezing it. She pointed to Scruffy and Mike noticed the dog seemed to have heard something. He closed his mouth and listened carefully to the sounds of the forest.

Something didn't feel right. It felt completely off. He turned to Emily and saw she was looking at him, waiting to see if he could pick up on whatever it was Scruffy was hearing. She knew Mike was in his element, and if something was wrong, he would be the first to know it.

"Hiya!" they both heard a cry and then a grunt and they once again poked their heads over the top of the log to see what was going on. They gasped loudly when they saw the six teenagers were midway through a battle with a little over a dozen Moogers.

Suddenly, the fake red Ranger turned and spotted both of them. Behind his helmet his eyes widened.

"Uh, guys!" he called to the rest of his team, "We've got civilians!"

"Keep them safe, Joe!" the blue one shouted. Joe nodded his head and rushed over to Mike and Emily. He stood guard in front of them.

"Don't worry, kids," he told them, "Everything will be fine. We have this under control."

"Yeah right," Mike muttered and suddenly he spotted a Mooger that was seconds away from slicing the red Ranger in half. Thinking quickly, he traced a symbol out of the red Ranger's sight and a large stick appeared in his hands. He knew he couldn't pull out his Spin Sword, so a stick was the next best weapon.

He jumped out from behind the tree and stopped the Mooger's sword with his stick before feeling something slashing him across the back. He let out a pained cry and dropped to his knees. He had been struck by the Mooger's swords before, but never without his Ranger suit. He was just now starting to appreciate how well the suit did its job.

"Mike!" Emily screamed as a Mooger kicked him into the dirt and raised his sword for the final strike. Emily leapt out from her hiding spot, picked up the stick Mike had created and took care of the Moogers surrounding her boyfriend before joining the fake Rangers in their battle and finishing off the rest of the army.

When they were defeated and gone Emily dropped her stick while the fake Rangers dropped their jaws, impressed that Emily was able to defeat the Moogers almost single-handedly. Emily rushed over to Mike and inspected the wound while the fake Rangers pulled off their helmets.

"Is he okay?" Emily heard one of them asking and she looked over her shoulder to see it was the green Ranger. She clenched her fists, feeling her blood boil in rage. She jumped up and spun around to face the teens furiously.

"What was that?" she shouted angrily. "You could have killed him…"

"Us?" the blue Ranger frowned and he gestured to his team. He looked down at Emily, "What were you guys doing here? In case you didn't notice, there was a monster attack…"

"Yeah, I noticed! I saved you!" Emily screamed. She pointed to Mike, "He saved your stupid red Ranger from a very painful death! You guys are pathetic!"

"Look, we had everything under control, okay," the blue Ranger was now standing over Emily, trying to intimidate her, but it wasn't working. She knew they were fakes.

"Whatever," Emily scoffed. She knelt down beside Mike and looked over the huge gash on his back. It looked very painful, and given the way Mike was withering around in pain, it seemed like he was really suffering.

Emily looked over to Scruffy, who was sitting by Mike's head and nudging the true green Ranger with his nose. Emily unclipped the leash from his collar.

"Home," she ordered the dog. Scruffy looked up at her and Emily repeated the command, a little more forcefully this time, "Scruffy, home!"

Scruffy whimpered and took off running towards the Shiba house. Emily knew that right now it would be the best way to get in contact with her friends without revealing her identity to the fake Rangers. Neither she nor Mike had their cell phones with them, and she couldn't very well pull out her Samuraizer while the teenagers were there.

To make matters worse, a crowd started to appear around the fake Rangers as the civilians learned of the monster attack and they were trying to see the Rangers in action.

Upon seeing the chance at some fame and glory, the fake Rangers turned to the crowd, smiling joyously.

"Don't worry, folks," the blue Ranger said as he waved to the crowd, "We've got everything under control!"

"Is that guy hurt?" a worried woman in the crowd asked when she spotted Mike lying on the ground.

The fake yellow turned to Mike and shrugged her shoulders.

"The monsters got to him before we got here," she lied and the crowd believed her.

Emily couldn't stand to hear this. Not only were they fake superheroes, but they were liars as well. If they wanted the fame, they needed to take responsibility for their actions. Mike was hurt _because_ of them; because they were in way over their heads.

"That's not true!" Emily screamed, jumping up once again to challenge the fake Rangers. She heard the crowd of people muttering amongst themselves at her outburst, but she didn't care. Mike was hurt.

The fake green Ranger pulled her into his arms before she could say anything else, though. He held her in a hug, making it look like he was trying to comfort her.

"She's in shock," he assured the crowd. "Don't worry. We'll make sure both of them are okay."

"No!" Emily struggled to pull free and started punching the green Ranger in the chest, but he wouldn't let her go. He kept whispering in her ear that everything was going to be okay, but the more he tried to comfort her, the angrier Emily felt.

While green fought to keep Emily calm, the other fake Rangers were working at getting the crowd to walk away so they could do their job. Once the crowd was gone, the Rangers turned back to Emily and the green Ranger.

"Okay, look kid, we'll take care of you and your friend, okay?" the blue Ranger promised, trying not to get on Emily's bad side. "We'll take you to a hospital and…"

"NO!" Emily shouted. She didn't want to hear it. She didn't want these fakes to take care of her or Mike. She wanted them to admit they were wrong. She wanted it all to stop.

"Kid, calm down," the green Ranger struggled to keep his arms around Emily as she pulled, whimpered and beat his chest with her fists. He moved his arms slightly to grab her wrists and stop the beatings, but that only made Emily struggle more.

"Let her go!" a voice shouted and it was clear that the owner of the voice was angry. The fake Rangers looked around, trying to find the source of the voice just before four young adults stepped into view. Emily recognised them immediately and knew her plan had worked.

Mia rushed over to Emily, pulling her out of the green Ranger's arms and into her own while she shot the green Ranger pointed glares. If looks could kill, the fake green Ranger would be six feet under.

Kevin and Antonio were quick to notice something was wrong with Mike. He was on the ground, unmoving at this point, and the back of his shirt was torn and stained with a red liquid. It didn't take them long to figure out that the red liquid was blood, and they rushed over to tend to him, hoping he was okay.

Jayden stepped forward and glared at the fake Rangers, "I don't care who you are," he barked, "Heroes or not, one of my friends is hurt and the other one is obviously terrified."

"They shouldn't be here," the blue Ranger said, trying to defend himself from Jayden. "Those monsters could have killed them…"

"You're lucky they didn't kill you," Jayden growled. He saw Kevin and Antonio had lifted Mike and were ready to take him back home so Mentor Ji could have a look at him. He gave the fake Rangers one final look, "Just, go home… get out of my sight before I rip you a new one…"

"Hey, I think you should be thanking us," the pink Ranger frowned, "We've been busting our asses trying to keep this planet safe. One kid got hurt, it was bound to happen eventually, but we're not to blame, he shouldn't have…"

"At least act like you're superheroes," Jayden rolled his eyes and placed his hand on Emily's back, "C'mon, Mike will be fine, I promise."


	133. Glory Hogs

"It's a good thing Scruffy managed to find his way home," Mentor Ji commented as he stepped out of Mike and Kevin's room after patching up the green Ranger. Mike had needed stiches to close up the gash on his back and Mentor had been in the room for hours tending to the green Ranger while Emily watched, refusing to leave Mike's side.

Antonio nodded his head and petted the dog under the chin as Scruffy rolled around in his arms, enjoying the attention. When Emily told Scruffy to go home, the dog had done just that. He found his way back to the Shiba house and alerted the Rangers that he was home. They came to check up on him when they heard him scratching the front door and found it odd that Scruffy would be home but Emily and Mike were nowhere in sight. Knowing Emily would never let anything happen to her dog, Jayden, Mia and Kevin assumed the worse and contacted Antonio to get him to come home. As soon as he did, they set out to find their missing friends.

And they found them just in time.

"Scruffy's a good dog," Antonio cooed to the puppy, "It's a good thing Mike bought you for Emily, huh little guy? You saved his life."

"Shh," Mia hushed the gold Ranger as she tossed a cushion at his head and pointed to the TV screen. Antonio, Kevin, Jayden and Mentor huddled around her as the news channel switched from in the studio to the news reporter on the scene with the fake Rangers.

"Once again the Power Rangers have saved the day from the monsters threatening to take over the city, and for the first time the Rangers themselves are here to tell us about what happened in the forest," the reporter said, quickly briefing the viewers before handing the microphone over to the red Ranger.

"Well, it was simple," Joe said with a shrug, "We were informed of danger, and when there's trouble we're always there to stop it."

"Sounds brave," the reporter nodded, "So you managed to defeat the monsters in the forest…"

"Yeah, no problem," Joe smiled.

"I heard there was a little hitch," the reporter said, "According to one of my sources a teenage boy got caught in the middle of the battle and was seriously injured."

"We took care of that," the blue Ranger jumped in. "Two teenagers apparently followed us into the forest and ended up in the middle of the fight. Somehow, one of the monsters managed to get past Joe and hit the young man in the back. It's an unfortunate accident, but thankfully we can all learn from his mistake."

The blue Ranger looked directly into the camera, "Please leave the dangerous stuff to the Power Rangers. We don't need anyone else getting hurt."

"So, will the boy be okay?" the reporter asked.

"He's fine," the green Ranger nodded his head, "He'll be up and about in no…"

Mia turned off the TV. She couldn't stand to listen anymore of it. Not only were the fake Rangers still keeping up the act, but they didn't seem to care at all that they put a life in danger. They were lying to the public to make themselves look good, meanwhile Mike was still laid up in bed, unconscious and in serious pain.

"This is ridiculous," she shook her head, "Those guys are…"

"They're going to get themselves killed." Jayden sighed, "Or worse…"

"Did you manage to talk to Emily?" Kevin asked Mentor Ji. He figured Emily wouldn't want to talk about what happened, but he, as well as the others, was curious to know the truth.

Mentor Ji shook his head, "I haven't. I was too busy with Mike. However, I doubt her story will match the one those Rangers told."

"You know what's really bothering me," Antonio spoke up. He set Scruffy down on the floor and pulled out his Samurai Morpher, "The Moogers. They were there, and yet we didn't have a clue."

Kevin furrowed his brow as it dawned on him. The reporter mentioned monsters, and there was no other way Mike could have been so badly hurt. Yet the city was covered with Gap Sensors, and the forest around the Shiba House also had a few placed to alert the Rangers of any trouble.

"Unless Jayden turned them all off again," Kevin nodded, "they should have gone off. We should have been the first Rangers in the scene, not them."

"How did they know, for starters," Mia also pointed out. "I mean, no one comes into this forest. They would have to have their own alarm system, or they went looking for trouble."

"Hopefully it's option number one," Antonio said, "At least that way we could say that whatever system they're using is jamming ours, and that's why we had no idea of the attack."

"Either way," Mia glanced at the boys' bedroom door, where she knew Mike and Emily were both suffering. She couldn't stand to see them hurt, "we've got to figure out a way to stop these guys."

"Before they hurt anyone else," Kevin nodded in agreement with his girlfriend. He and Mike had their differences, but he felt the same way as Mia did. He didn't like to see the two youngest Rangers hurting, and he didn't want these fake Rangers to put any more lives at risk. They weren't aware of it, but they were lucky the two kids that ended up caught in the middle of the fight were actually Rangers. Had they been regular civilians there would have been a lot more trouble.

"I'm going to make sure they're okay," Mia whispered as she pushed herself out of her seat and headed for the bedroom. "If you guys need me…"

"We'll let you know," Kevin nodded. He turned to Jayden, "How about you and I have a look at that Gap Sensor. We'll figure out why it didn't go off and maybe next time we'll get the jump on the wannabes."

"I guess that just leaves me," Antonio sighed.

"The Nighlok are getting stronger," Mentor said to the gold Ranger, "and with these imitators making things more complicated, I fear it's even more important we get the Black Box up and running."

"I'll see what I can do," Antonio nodded. He only had a few more symbols left to program, but the task was still difficult. He had been working on the box on and off since Japan, but he was getting nowhere fast.

"That's all I ask," Mentor smiled weakly.

-Samurai-

Inside the boys' bedroom, Mia saw what she considered a strange sight. Mike was the one lying in bed while Emily was sitting by his side. Normally, whenever the Rangers found themselves in a similar position it was Emily lying in the bed and Mike trying to comfort her.

Mia approached her little sister and gently placed a hand on Emily's back. Emily looked up for a moment before quickly turning her gaze back to Mike and squeezing his hand. Mia sighed and wrapped her arms around Emily's shoulders.

"He'll be okay," she promised.

"I know… it's just… I don't like this."

"None of us do," Mia moved in closer to the bed and lifted the blankets carefully. She laid them gently over Mike, covering him up so Emily wouldn't have to look at the bandages, "Come on, how about you and I go grab something to…"

"No," Emily shook her head. "Mike's always been there for me. I'm not leaving."

"Yeah but Emily, you're more…" she wanted to say sensitive but quickly decided against it. She figured reminding Emily of her fear of losing someone she cared about wasn't the best idea; not at this time at least. Mike was going to be okay, but it was still going to be hard for Emily to sit by his side and wait for some improvement in his condition. Mia sighed, changing her sentence, "Mike wouldn't want you to be upset. One snack won't…"

"I want to stay here," Emily insisted. "Kevin can take my bed, or he can sleep with you, I don't care. I'm not leaving until Mike tells me himself that he's okay."

"Emily…"

"I'm staying."

"Emy…"

"Mia…"

Mia took a deep breathe, "Toast or cereal?"

"Toast," Emily answered before laying her head down on Mike's mattress and pulling his hand in closer to her chest as she looked up at his sleeping face. She wished she could say it seemed peaceful, but there was an obvious look of pain.

"I'll be back, okay Emy?" Mia whispered as she made her way out of the room, "You don't have to be alone."

She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a few slices of bread, enough for herself and Emily. She popped them into the toaster. She could make toast no problem without Kevin's help, but it was figuring out what to put on the toast that was her problem.

She figured she would just stick with the traditional jam. She had seen Emily eating it once or twice before and knew the yellow Ranger wouldn't mind eating it. Of course, that was if Emily was actually going to eat the food.

When the toast popped she set it on a plate and started coating the slices with jam, trying not to put too much on. As she did this, Antonio walked into the room, bounding with excited as he carried the Black Box and Mia's power disk in his hand.

"Mia!" he hopped over to the pink Ranger and handed her back her disk, "I got your symbol into the box."

"Great," Mia tried to sound excited for Antonio, but she couldn't muster up the enthusiasm. She gave Antonio an apologetic look, "Sorry, Antonio, if this had been any other time…"

Antonio noticed the plate of toast in her hands, realising there was enough food on that plate for two people. The smile fell from his face and his shoulders slumped forward. In his excitement he had forgotten all about Mike. He knew the green Ranger was going to be okay, but it still hurt him and the rest of the house to know he was in a lot of pain.

"Oh…"

"I…" now Mia felt bad for squashing Antonio's excitement. He had a right to be proud of his accomplishment, no matter the situation. The Black Box was not an easy box to program, and one more symbol inside meant they were so much closer to the end. If she was right, all Antonio needed to do was program Mike and Jayden's symbols. She lifted a piece of toast from the plate and offered it to Antonio, "Celebratory toast?"

"Thanks," Antonio accepted the snack with a small smile. He took a bite before looking at Mia, "Uh, how are they?"

Mia shrugged, "Mike's still not awake and Emily refuses to leave his side. I'm worried for both of them."

"They'll be fine," Antonio tried to sound convincing but for some reason he couldn't. He wasn't lying. He truly believed they were going to be okay, but it just didn't seem like the right thing to say at this point. He placed a hand on Mia's shoulder, "Besides, we'll take care of those wannabes once and for all, before they hurt someone else."

"I know," Mia nodded her head and pulled Antonio in for a hug. "We just have to figure out how. We can't exactly walk around town in the spandex, can we?"

"I doubt it," Antonio shook his head as he pulled away from Mia. "I don't think I would want to anyways. The suit's tight enough when we have to wear it."

Mia smiled and chuckled softly, "And you don't have the luxury of the skirt. I feel bad for you sometimes," she lifted the plate slightly and gestured to Mike's room, "I'm going to make sure Emily eats something."

"Good luck," Antonio nodded and he gave her a pat on the back as she walked off. He looked down at the Black Box and sighed, "Well, I guess it's just you and me…"


	134. Emily's Rage

Kevin dragged his feet across the floor as he made his way into his bedroom after a long night of fixing the Gap Sensor. As it turned out, the Sensor wasn't broken at all, but Mia's initial assumption that the fake Rangers had their own alarm had been correct and Antonio's assumption about that alarm jamming the Gap Sensor had been correct as well. Once that had been figured out, Kevin and Jayden worked on getting the Gap Sensor up and running, upgrading it until it would no longer be jammed by whatever alarm system the fake Rangers were using. Hopefully that meant they would be the first to know when the next Nighlok appeared in the city.

He was about to turn on the light in his bedroom when he remembered Mike was still resting from the injury he had sustained earlier that day. Kevin let out a worried sigh and decided to go check up on his friend. He hadn't heard any news from his friends about Mike's condition, so now was his chance to find out.

He stumbled in the dark but made it to the side of Mike's bed. When he tried to get in closer he felt something hard hit his thigh. Looking down, he could just barely make out Emily sleeping in the chair beside Mike's bed. Kevin sighed once more.

"Em…"

He was just about to leave her and Mike to sleep when he heard a moan.

"Kevin?"

Kevin's eyes widened. It didn't sound like Emily. He turned back to the bed and saw Mike's hand moving slowly along the side of his body.

"Mike?" Kevin walked around to the other side of the bed and placed a soft hand between Mike's shoulders, where he knew it was safe to touch. Mike lifted his head slightly and turned it so he was facing Kevin. The blue Ranger smiled and kneeled down next to the bed so he could look Mike in the eye, "You're up."

"I've been awake for a little while," even Mike's voice sounded hurt, but Kevin didn't expect anything else. The gash on his back had been pretty deep, and it had taken Mentor Ji a lot of time to fix it up and stabilise Mike. As Kevin had learned from his own injuries, the more time it took to tend to, the more it tended to hurt.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Kevin asked him. "I'm sure Emily would have…"

"She's asleep," Mike whispered. "I don't want to wake her up. She needs the rest."

Kevin couldn't help but agree with Mike. Even before he and the others had reached Emily and Mike in the forest they could hear her screams. It didn't take an empath to know Emily was majorly distressed and angry. The only thing that would help her right now, aside from Mike recovering spontaneously, was to calm down and get some rest.

Kevin chuckled slightly, "I'm starting to feel like an idiot," he smiled to the green Ranger, "a few months ago I thought you weren't good enough for Emily, and yet here you are, laid up in bed, and you're still taking care of her."

"Can you just move her, please?" Mike asked. "I don't think she'll be happy if you move her back to her room, but she's not going to sleep well in that chair so…"

"Tell you what," Kevin smiled, "She can take my bed and I'll take hers. I'm sure she won't mind."

"Thank you," Mike shot his blue friend a smile as Kevin walked back around to the other side of the bed. Slowly and carefully, he scooped the sleeping Emily up in his arms and started making his way over to his bed.

To his surprise, he found another Ranger already occupying half the bed.

"Uh…" Kevin frowned. Now he had a bit of a problem. He was okay spending the night in the girls' bedroom when he thought Mia was going to be there, but if it was just going to be him it would feel a little weird. He didn't want to move Mia out of his bed, assuming she had fallen asleep there for a reason, but if he set Emily down, he would have nowhere to sleep.

"What?" Mike asked.

"Somebody's been sleeping in my bed," Kevin chuckled, "and she's still there."

"Mia?" Mike asked before rolling his eyes. Of course it was Mia. She was the only other girl in the house. "Why is she in your bed?"

"She probably didn't want to leave Emily," Kevin sighed. He shifted Emily gently in his arms while he tried to figure out how the sleeping arrangements were going to work now that there were four Rangers in one bedroom.

Mike pressed his hands into his mattress and tried to push himself up, "Bring Emily back here and I'll… ARG!"

"Mike!" Kevin snapped quietly to the green Ranger. He set Emily down in the bed and rushed over to his bed friend. He helped Mike lay back down on his stomach once again and got the green Ranger comfortable, "Don't move, you're going to pull the stitches."

"Just be blunt about it," Mike said through gritted teeth as he clenched the bed sheets tightly in his fists, "I'm going to rip by fucking back wide open."

"However you put it, it's not going to help you recover," Kevin shook his head and sighed. He turned back to his bed where both girls were sleeping, "Look, don't worry about it. I'll go grab a sleeping bag and I'll set myself up on the floor."

"Kevin, I'm fine…"

Kevin raised one eyebrow as he looked down at his green friend, "Yeah, and I'm the life of the party."

"You don't have to sleep on the floor," Mike insisted, but Kevin wouldn't hear it. The swimmer was shaking his head and moving towards the door. Mike was stubborn too, though, "Look, just bring Emily over here, she's small enough to fit…"

"And what's going to happen when she rolls over and hits your back?" Kevin asked. He turned back to Mike and crossed his arms over his chest, "It's going to hurt, you're going to scream and she's going to…"

"Okay… okay… whatever…"

"I'm fine on the floor, Mike, honestly," Kevin smiled. "You just rest, and if you need anything, don't be afraid to wake me up."

"If you insist," Mike pressed his head back into his pillow as he was forced to give into Kevin's demands. It wasn't like he had much of a choice. He couldn't move his body a couple of inches over, never mind bring Emily over to his bed so Kevin could get a peaceful sleep. He could argue all he wanted, but he knew this was one fight he was never going to win.

-Samurai-

Emily didn't have to open her eyes to know the sun was shining brightly outside. She screwed her eyes shut tighter and grabbed the blankets, pulling them over her head as she rolled over in bed.

Slowly, it occurred to her that she never went to bed last night. She wanted to stay with Mike. Furious someone had moved her; Emily opened her eyes and threw the blankets off from over her head.

That was when she noticed the bed had a blue theme, not yellow. This wasn't her bed, it was Kevin's.

"What on earth…" there was a brief moment of panic as she looked around the bed, trying to figure out what had happened. Relief washed over her when she saw Mia was sleeping on the other half of the bed.

She crawled to the end of the bed, careful not to wake Mia and saw Kevin was sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor. She furrowed her brow as she stared at him for a moment, confused as to why he would be sleeping there.

Then she looked up across the room where Mike was still resting in his bed. He seemed to be sleeping a little more peacefully now than he had been last night, but Emily knew the pain was always worse the morning after. The minute he opened his eyes it was going to start up again, worse than ever before.

As she hopped out of bed she noticed Mia had left the plate of toast on the night table. Emily hadn't eaten much last night and it seemed Mia had left the plate there for her in case she woke up hungry. By now the toast didn't look very appetizing which meant even if Emily was going to eat something, she wasn't going to be eating the toast.

She walked over to Mike's bed and sat down in the chair. She took his hand in hers and rubbed it gently with her fingers, hoping she would get some kind of response.

After a couple of minutes Emily sighed and a tear rolled down her cheek. She didn't like to see him in pain. He had always been there for her, protecting her. He was her rock, especially when she was away from her sister and her parents. But she didn't know how to be strong for him.

"I'll be right back," she promised him as she kissed his cheek. She didn't want to leave, but she had to shower.

As she walked to her room to collect her things she heard the TV was turned on. Curiosity got the better of her as she did a major detour through the common room. She saw Mentor Ji was awake, eating a bowl of cereal in front of the TV as he watched the news.

He smiled cheerfully when he saw her and muted the TV, "Good morning, Emily."

"Not really," Emily sulked.

Mentor sighed. Obviously she wasn't in the mood to be cheered up. He tapped the seat next to him, inviting her to sit. Emily complied, only because she didn't really want to disobey her Mentor.

"Mike will be fine," Mentor promised her as he set his bowl down on the coffee table and turned to her. "You oversaw everything I did."

"He'll be fine, but that doesn't mean he's not hurting," Emily muttered. She lowered her head and stared at her hands as they fiddled with a loose string on the cushion.

Mentor Ji gave his youngest Ranger a small, comforting smile as he gently brushed the hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. He hated to see his Rangers hurting. No matter how much he tried to distance himself from them and remind himself that their presence in his life was only temporary, he couldn't help but form an attachment to the teenagers living under his roof. He prepared their meals, trained them for battle, nursed them when they were sick and tended to them when they were hurt. He watched them all grow into power Samurai and amazing Rangers. Jayden would always hold a very special place in Mentor's heart, but he was no longer Mentor's only son. Mentor considered himself to be a father of six. He had four sons and two daughters.

So whenever one of them came to him, seeking advice or comfort, he was always ready to offer it.

"Emily," he whispered her name softly as he wrapped his arms around her, "I know this isn't easy, but in a few days Mike will be on his feet again."

"I don't like this, though," Emily muttered. Resting her head on Mentor's shoulder, she turned to face the TV. She didn't pay much attention to it as it flickered until she noticed six familiar faces.

She couldn't remember a time where she felt this much anger and hatred towards another human being. Even the anger towards the bullies from her childhood paled in comparison to the fire raging inside now as she eyed the six posers on the screen before her. They were holding another interview, this time on a talk show, and they seemed happy as ever, like the battle and Mike's injury had absolutely no effect on them.

She pulled away from Mentor Ji and snatched the remote from his lap. She restored the volume to the TV and listened to the fake Rangers as they went on an on with their lies.

"We'll be in the park this afternoon," the gold Ranger announced, "We've been getting a lot of requests for another autograph signing so we'll be there all afternoon. We'll supply the pens."

"Well, you heard it here first," the host turned to the camera as the interview came to an end. Emily looked up at the clock. This broadcast must have been a rerun from earlier in the morning because it was already almost noon. Mentor Ji had let the Rangers sleep in today.

Emily tossed the remote back to Mentor Ji and took off for the door. One way or another, she was going to stop these lies before anyone else had to suffer.

Jayden stepped into the room just in time to see Emily's fleeing form. He cast a glance at Mentor.

"Where is she…?"

"I'm afraid there's no stopping an angry Emily," Mentor sighed. He reached into his kimono, "Fortunately, we can rest knowing she's not going to do anything stupid."

He pulled out Emily's Samuraizer and Jayden gasped. He swiped the device from Mentor and glared at his father figure.

"You let her run off without it?" he shouted.

"She'll be at the park," Mentor told the red Ranger. "I took it from her moments before she ran off, fearing she would do something like this."

"You… but… and… arg," Jayden clenched his fists around the Samuraizer, wishing he could snap it in half.

"I don't think I need to remind you that your main priority is to protect the city," Mentor stated, "and given the attention these fake Rangers are receiving, I doubt you would be able to fight off the Nighlok with reporters and paparazzi breathing down your next. No matter the cost, you are not allowed to reveal yourselves to be the Samurai Rangers."

"That still doesn't mean you can take Emily's Samuraizer," Jayden sighed. He glanced down at Emily's Samuraizer, "So, you said the park?"

"Your fake counterparts are signing autographs," Mentor nodded.

"Tell the others and keep an eye on Mike," Jayden instructed his Mentor, "I'll go after Emily before she gets too far away from her Samuraizer."


	135. Exposing the Lies

"I can't believe we have so many fans!" Joe called to his friends over the crowd as he signed paper after paper for the people that were asking him for his autograph, and he posed for pictures for those with a camera. He tuned to his yellow teammate, who was standing closest to him. "I don't know why we didn't think of doing this months ago, Jess."

Jessica shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, but it probably wouldn't have been as exciting as it is now. The longer you keep people waiting, the more anxious they get."

"Smile!" a woman in the crowd said to the red and yellow Rangers as they posed for a picture together.

"Hey, Benson!" the green Ranger called to his blue friend, "How many hot girls are you posing with?"

Benson turned to look at the green Ranger and sighed when he saw his friend surrounded by five girls as a sixth snapped a picture of the group. They squealed loudly once the picture was done and the green Ranger removed his helmet, leaned over and kissed the brunette on the cheek.

"Just for you, babe."

"Matt, sign and pose! This is no time to flirt!" Benson rolled his eyes.

"It's always time to flirt, right Holden?"

The gold Ranger nodded his head as he finished signing an autograph for a beautiful woman.

"Hell yeah!"

"Pigs," the pink Ranger shook her head as she handed an autographed picture of herself to a little girl. "Here you go, sweetheart."

"Thank you… Sa… Sa…"

"Sasha," the pink Ranger smiled, helping the little girl read the handwriting, "My name's Sasha."

"Thank you for doing this," the little girl's mother smiled as she took her daughter's hand, "My daughter looks up to you guys, but you especially. Her favourite colour is pink."

"So is mine," Sasha grinned before leaning over and moving in closer to the little girl. "Shh, don't tell anyone this, but the blue Ranger's favourite colour is also pink."

"But he's a boy!" the girl cried. Sasha laughed and waved goodbye.

"Remember, stay out of trouble!"

The little girl nodded her head and skipped away, hugging the picture close to her chest.

She hopped right past Emily as the true yellow Ranger stood a little ways off from the crowd, watching as they handed out autographs and posed for pictures. She wanted nothing more than to storm in there and expose them as fakes, but she knew that wasn't a smart move to do. She couldn't prove they were liars unless she told the world she was the yellow Ranger. She knew she couldn't do that. Not only would it be a violation of the Samurai Ranger code, but it could put her family at risk. She didn't want that at all.

The little girl skipped right over to her and showed Emily the picture that Sasha had signed.

"Look at what I got!" she was proud of her newest possession.

"That's great," Emily tried to sound happy for the girl.

"The pink Ranger is really nice," the little girl went on, oblivious to the fact that Emily wasn't in the mood for any kind of excitement. "When I grow up, I want to be just like her."

Emily nodded her head, "Yeah, so do I."

"You can probably still get her autograph," the little girl's mother told Emily. "She's promised to sign one for all her fans."

"Thanks, but I don't need the pink Ranger's autograph," Emily smiled politely before the mother and daughter walked off.

She turned her gaze over to the green Ranger and sighed loudly, thinking of Mike. He was still hurting a lot because of these fake Rangers. If they hadn't of stolen their identities, Mike wouldn't have had to take a hit from the Mooger without his Ranger suit. He would have been just fine, or at worse a little sore.

But he wasn't. He was still in bed and he was in more pain than Emily could ever imagine. She hated seeing someone she loved suffering, even if she knew they were going to be okay. She couldn't bear knowing they were in pain.

What she hated most, though, was that these Rangers were guilt free about the incident. They had dismissed it completely and were acting like it had never happened. They didn't even take responsibility for it when it did happen. Instead, they lied to reports about the cause of Mike's injuries and their involvement because they wanted to look good.

Unsure of what to do now, Emily pulled out her cell phone, hoping she would be able to get in contact with her sister. When times were tough, she always used to be able to turn to Serena for advice. Her older sister always knew what to do.

She remembered Mentor told her about a communicator that he had given Serena. When she left the Shiba house the first time, she had promised Emily that they would be able to keep in contact. Mentor Ji told Emily there were two ways of reaching Serena. The Samuraizer was linked the communicator, and her cell phone had been programmed by Antonio so that it would also be linked.

Knowing she couldn't pull out her Samuraizer in public, and unaware that Mentor had taken it from her when he hugged her, Emily chose her phone. It was a look more subtle and wouldn't raise suspicion if someone saw it. Not that they would assume anything, of course. They were no longer trying to figure out the identities of the Rangers.

"Serena?" Emily asked when the phone stopped ringing but there was no answer. Finally, she heard a yawn.

"Emy? Do you know what time it is here?"

Emily shook her head, "Uh… no."

"Never mind. What's up?"

Emily started to walk away from the crowd of people and kept her voice low, hoping no one could hear her as she explained the situation to her sister. She didn't leave out a single detail, especially when she got to the part about Mike getting hurt. Serena listened carefully, never saying a word until Emily was finished.

"Wait, they're pretending to be you?" she asked.

Emily glanced at her phone for a minute, "Are you slow?"

"No, no, I got it," Serena answered, "I just… I can't believe it. And because they have no clue what they're doing…"

"Mike got hurt," Emily nodded. "We don't know… Serena, is someone there?" Emily asked when she heard muttering on the other end of the line and her sister's voice telling them to shut up.

"Yeah, I'm just explaining this to… uh… a friend," Serena said.

"You mean one of the servants?"

"A friend," Serena insisted before there was a slight pause. Emily waited for her sister to say something that would help her, or that would at least comfort her. Finally, her sister did speak, "Hey, um, Emy… you trust me, right?"

"You're my sister," Emily replied.

"Good. Look, I've got a plan that'll convince these copycats they're in way over their heads, but you're not going to like it much. I need you to trust me, though."

"What kind of plan?"

"My friend will explain when he gets there. Just don't freak out okay?"

"You're sending someone? You're still in Japan, right?"

"Yeah, but he'll be there as soon as possible," Serena promised her sister. "Look, if this doesn't scare these posers straight, I don't know what will."

"Are you sure it's going to work?" Emily asked. She didn't like not knowing what her sister had planned, but right now she would try anything if it meant the fake Rangers would be exposed. There was nothing she could do to ease Mike's pain, but at least she could give him some justice.

"Trust me, Emy."

"I… uh oh," Emily's eyes widened when she saw Jayden was headed her way, and Mia, Kevin and Antonio weren't far behind him. "Serena, I've got to go. The others don't really like it when I leave the Shiba House without telling them… especially when I go alone."

"What…?"

Emily hung up the phone and tucked it away as her friends approached her. They came to a stop next to her and were panting loudly. It was almost as if they had run the entire way.

"You can't do that," Jayden smirked as he shot Emily a look. "Next time, warn us when you're going to take off suddenly."

"Then it wouldn't be taking off suddenly," Emily answered back.

Mia looked to the blonde, "Emy, are you okay?"

"I'm just worried about Mike," Emily shrugged and sighed. She kicked the dirt, "and before you ask, I haven't said anything to the fakers."

"Look, we'll figure this out," Kevin promised. He wrapped his arms around the yellow Ranger, "and who knows, maybe the problem will fix itself. Those liars might get bored of all the attention."

"I want them to admit they were wrong, though," Emily glanced over at the fake Rangers. "They hurt Mike…"

-Samurai-

After her sister hung up on her, Serena put her communicator down and glanced across the room. On a mat on the floor, Dekker was sitting, looking back at her. Just like Serena, he had been woken up when the communicator went off and he had listened to the conversation between the two sisters.

Serena sighed, "I can't believe I let you talk me into doing this."

"I promised you no harm would come to the Rangers," Dekker said as he turned to Urumasa.

"What about the fake Rangers? I know they're dicks, but you can't hurt them either."

"And I won't, I promise," Dekker flashed Serena a smile.

Serena rolled her eyes, "And you can't hurt any of the civilians."

"I won't…"

"And…"

"You trust me to live in your house, knowing I could easily kill you and your servants, and yet you do not trust me to help you and the Rangers take care of a problem? I'm offended, Serena."

"I don't trust you with my sister," Serena glared at Dekker, "and now that you bring it up, I'm still uncomfortable leaving you alone with the servants. That's why I let you sleep in my room."

"Really?" Dekker smirked as he got up and reached for Urumasa, "I always thought there was an ulterior motive to the sleeping arrangements."

Dekker examined his blade as Serena shot him angry looks from across the room. Suddenly, he held out Urumasa for her to take.

"Here," he said to her, "as I sign of my loyalty I will not use Urumasa for this mission. I will borrow one of the swords from the armoury."

Serena was hesitant to take Dekker's trusted sword, knowing it had killed a number of people over the years, but eventually she did grab it from him.

"Well, at least I know you won't be slicing people's heads off with this."

"No blood will be shed in the time I am gone," Dekker assured Serena. "However, I would look like a fooled if I turned up completely unarmed."

"Just… do what you've got to do, okay?" Serena told the warrior. He nodded his head and headed for the door.

"Hey, Dekker," he heard her call just as he was about to leave. He stopped in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder. He heard Serena exhale deeply, "Uh… be careful… the real Ranger's aren't going to go easy on you, you know that, right?"

"I do," Dekker nodded. He took a step forward as a portal opened up in a crack in the floorboards. Just like that, he was gone.

Serena fell back into her bed and sighed loudly, "I can't believe this…"


	136. Dekker Helps Out Again

Jayden and Mia walked over to their friends with several hot-dogs in their hands. After catching up to Emily they decided they would settle for a nice hot-dog lunch in the park while they watched the autograph signing and kept their eyes on the fake Rangers. They hoped the fake Rangers weren't going to do anything stupid, but they wanted to make sure no one was in danger. If Moogers or a Nighlok turned up, the crowd of people would be the perfect place to strike terror, and these fake Rangers wouldn't be up to the challenge of defending at least a hundred civilians as well as fighting off the Nighlok.

Keeping one hot-dog for herself, Mia passed the second one in her hands to Kevin while Jayden passed two of his three hot-dogs to Antonio and Emily.

Emily shook her head, "I'm not hungry."

"Emily, you didn't eat much last night, and something tells me you didn't eat breakfast this morning," Mia sighed. She took a seat next to the yellow Ranger on the grass and placed a hand on Emily's leg, "You'll need to eat something."

"Yeah, if you start to lose weight and get any lighter you might float away, and we all know about your fear of flying," Antonio chuckled as he tried to brighten the mood. Emily smiled weakly, but kept her eyes on the fake Rangers. Serena promised she had a plan that would expose them, and Emily was waiting for that plan to present itself.

"Please just eat something," Mia begged the blonde, "even just half the hot-dog."

Emily shook her head and Mia was about to plead once more when the five Rangers heard a loud cry coming from the crowd. Reflexively, they all jumped up and turned to the source of the cry, spotting Dekker in his Nighlok form as he made his way through the crowd of people.

Unlike when Nighloks normally appeared, the crowd didn't disperse, not even when Dekker pulled out his sword. They barely even tried to flee. They took a few steps away from the mad warrior, trying to stay out of his path, but rather than run for safety, they were yelling taunts.

"Turn away now you freak!" a woman shouted to Dekker, "you don't stand a chance against the Power Rangers!"

"Yeah, they'll have you beat in seconds flat!"

Kevin, Antonio, Mia and Emily turned their gaze to Jayden, silently asking him what they should do. The Nighlok and Moogers were already tough enough for them to handle, but not one believed the fake Rangers would be able to put up a fight against Dekker. With the exception of Jayden, not even the real Rangers had much luck taking him out. Even then, Dekker was still standing, proving that Jayden struggled to defeat him once and for all.

"Jayden, we have to do something," Mia said when her leader made no move to step in. Jayden, though, was trying to figure this out.

"We can't morph," he announced. "If we do, people will know who we really are."

"So, are you saying we take Dekker on powerless?" Kevin asked.

"Dekker could kill every person in the park in less time than it would take for us to morph," Jayden stated. "He knows who the real Rangers are; he'll know those guys are fakes."

"What if he points us out?" Antonio frowned with worry.

"All he cares about is a duel. I doubt he'll bother himself with pointing fingers," Jayden said. He turned to his team, "C'mon, let's make our way down."

"And do what?" Kevin asked, following his leader. "If we start kicking his ass, people will ask questions."

"At least, if we get closer, we'll figure out what Dekker wants," Jayden replied.

They made their way down to the crowd and slowly pushed their way through to the front while Dekker stood in the middle of the people, facing the fake Rangers. He pointed his sword at the Rangers, at which they pulled out their makeshift weapons from their bags.

Dekker chuckled, "You Rangers amuse me."

"What do you want?" Benson snapped. He held his sword out at the ready, causing Dekker to laugh.

"I have come to finish what I started," Dekker announced, explaining himself to the Rangers and the crowd. He turned to the red Ranger, "Our previous duel has shown me that while I may be the best warrior there is you have a team by your side. Individually your friends are pathetic, but together you have overpowered me."

Kevin leaned over and whispered into Mia's ear, "Does he know we're standing right here?"

Mia shrugged her shoulders and pointed to Dekker's sword, "Doesn't he normally carry a really long sword? Urumasa?"

"Hey," Kevin furrowed his brow and examined Dekker's sword again, "You're… you're right."

Dekker's finely tuned ears could hear the blue and pink Ranger's whispers and he smirked to himself. If they were here then so were the other Rangers, and he only needed one.

He glared at the red Ranger, "I have been training night and day in a secret temple," he announced. "I have improved my skills greatly and I challenge you to a duel to the death."

"Dream on!" Benson shouted, stepping in front of Joe. "Why would he agree to that? We're the Power Rangers! If you want one of us, you'll have to go through all of us!"

"Unfortunately, that is unacceptable," Dekker growled and he turned to the crowd, eyeing them all. He had promised Serena no harm would come to any of the Rangers, real or fake, or the civilians, and he intended on keeping that promise, but nothing stopped him from striking fear into the hearts of the people gathered around him.

He swung his sword as he approached the crowd. His mastery meant he had full control, but no one was willing to trust that the warrior would not cut them to pieces because of a promise he made to a friend. Jumping back, they all screamed. Parents shielded their kids as they started to cry while others lifted their arms to cover their faces in an attempt to hide.

When Dekker finally stopped wielding his sword he found himself face to face with the true Rangers. Reaching out quickly, he grabbed the yellow Ranger and put his sword to her throat as he stepped back.

The crowd gasped and Dekker leaned forward and whispered to Emily.

"This time, I mean you no harm."

"Let me go," Emily struggled against his hold but it was no use. If she moved too much, his sword would slice her head off.

"Your sister sent me," Dekker told her.

Emily looked up in shock. When Serena mentioned her plan she had said something it being something Emily wouldn't quite approve of. Emily didn't understand what that meant at first, but she did now.

"Leave the kid alone!" Benson shouted to Dekker as he and the fake Rangers took a step forward.

Jayden, Mia, Kevin and Antonio stood at the ready as well. They didn't want to expose themselves as the true Rangers, but if Dekker made a move that would threaten Emily's safety, they wouldn't hesitate to jump in and fight.

Dekker smirked to himself. This was the very reason he had chosen the yellow Ranger. She was young and he knew humans considered the youth, especially female youth, to be vulnerable and defenceless. They needed the most protection.

He glared at the fake red Ranger, "You have until sunrise tomorrow to find me and take me up on our duel, or the girl dies."

"What?" the fake Rangers gasped and the crowd started to mutter amongst themselves as they wondered what their heroes were going to do."

"I'll be waiting in the forest. I suggest you start your search for us now, as the forest is vast and you may not reach us in time," Dekker said as he backed away slowly, pulling Emily along with him. Before the Rangers could say anything else, he and Emily disappeared into a portal.

The fake gold Ranger turned to Benson, "Uh… dude… this kind of… sucks."

-Samurai-

Dekker and Emily appeared in the forest and as soon as they were steady on their feet Dekker let go of Emily and pointed down a path.

"Your home is that way."

"What?" Emily frowned, stepping away from Dekker. The warrior sighed and rolled his eyes.

"While this would normally be the perfect opportunity to take you and your friends out, I made a promise to your sister that no harm would come to you or anyone else… at least, not on this mission."

"What are you doing with Serena?" Emily asked, reaching to her pockets but finding, to her surprise, that her Samuraizer wasn't there.

"After my defeat in the last duel I knew I needed more training. If you Rangers insist on protecting Red, then I have no choice but to duel you all. As a team you are strong, so I need to be stronger."

"Fine, but leave my sister…"

"Serena has been kind enough to give me a place to stay and she is doing well as my training partner."

"She would never…"

"In return, I am allowing her to keep track of where I am. As you know, there is nothing that can stop me from duelling the red Ranger. Your sister realised this and knows that as long as I am living with her I am not threatening you, the other Rangers, or your friends."

"But she's training you?" Emily frowned.

"She's training with me," Dekker corrected her. "As I grow stronger, so does she, and when the time comes for my duel with the red Ranger, I have no doubt she will try to step in."

Again, Dekker pointed in the direction of the Shiba house, "You may go. I have no use for you here. If the fake Rangers do find me before sunset, I have no problem fabricating a lie about your death."

"And what if they don't?" Emily asked.

"If they choose not to challenge me, they'll be shamed into admitting they were never the real Rangers," Dekker explained. "Their fans will not be so supportive when they realise their heroes let a young girl like you die at the hands of a fierce warrior."

Emily nodded her head in agreement before taking off for home. If she wanted Serena and Dekker's plan to work, she had to stay out of sight. The Shiba house was the best place for that.

-Samurai-

With Dekker gone, the crowd was now safe to gather once again around the Rangers. However, instead of asking for pictures and autographs, the fans were asking the fake Rangers what they planned on doing about Dekker and how they were going to save Emily.

"He looked mad!" a woman shouted as she clutched her daughter to her chest. As far as she was concerned, the missing girl could have been her own daughter. "You Rangers have to do something or he'll kill her!"

"I know, I know!" Benson nodded his head and tried to think, but it was hard to hear his thoughts over the cries of the crowd.

"Don't just stand there!" a man called, "Go after him! Track him down like you do with all the other monsters and kick his ass!"

"Yeah, why are you just standing there? Do something!" another man shouted.

Sasha turned to Benson with a worried look in her eyes, "I know what we're supposed to do… but did you see the way that monster swung his sword? We're not that good! He'll kill the kid and he'll take us down in the process!"

Matt put down his helmet and shook his head, "You know what, dudes? I'm out."

"What?" the other fake Rangers turned to him as he turned away.

"This shit's dangerous!" Matt said. "I'm not challenging some freakazoid. I mean, being a Ranger was cool, but the last thing I need right now is death. After what I saw, that monster's going to get his way, and it's either going to be us, or that girl. Personally, I couldn't deal with the guilt if we failed… which we will…"

"What are you talking about?" a woman asked as Matt walked by her. "You're the Power Rangers! This is what you do?"

Matt shook his head, "Yeah, the funny thing is… we're not."

"What?" the crowd gasped.

Matt was quick to point his finger at Benson, "This guy thought it would be cool to be the Power Rangers. You know, because no one knows who they are we could get away with it. Instant fame, he said."

"Why am I being blamed?" Benson frowned. "You went along with it!"

"Look, Ben," Sasha side, tossing her weapon aside, "I think Matt's right. I mean, fighting those other monsters was hard enough… and you remember what happened to that boy… I don't think I want to take responsibility for the death of a kid."

"Neither do we," Joe said and Holden and Jessica nodded.

"Dude, that guy looked seriously tough," Holden added.

"So… let me get this straight," Antonio piped up, "You guys are saying you're not the real Power Rangers?"

"We never were," Matt admitted. "We just pretended… we made these suits and the weapons in Ben's basement. We all took karate and stuff as kids and we're pretty good but that guy… no way am I going to be blamed for anything he does."

"He kidnapped our friend because of you," Kevin shouted. "He's going to kill her because you liars don't want to take responsibility for some stupid and dangerous prank? Whether you save her or not, you're to blame!"

Jayden placed his hand on Kevin's shoulder to keep the blue Ranger calm.

"Look, if they aren't the real Rangers then that means we still have brave Rangers out there. They're probably already looking for Emily."

Kevin glared at his leader. Did Jayden hit his head? _They_ were the real Rangers and they were just standing around. Jayden smirked and winked at Kevin.

The swimmer frowned when he saw Jayden doing this. Suddenly, he heard another cry coming from the crowd.

"It's the pink Ranger!" a nasally voice cried out before the crowd stepped away from the source and a young teenage boy passed out.

Mia had managed to sneak away from the crowd and find somewhere safe to morph, as per Jayden's request. Once she was the pink Ranger, and her identity was concealed, she was told to return back to the crowd so everyone would know the real Rangers were going to handle Dekker from here on out.

When Mia saw the young teen pass out she rolled her eyes and sighed.

_Spike…_ she muttered internally knowing from her previous encounters with the boy that he had a crush on her, both in and out of the spandex.

She stepped up, standing toe to toe before Benson the fake blue Ranger, who for some reason had taken the leadership role in the team rather than letting the red Ranger take command.

"I hope you kids realise this isn't all fun and games. Those monsters are dangerous! They'll hurt or kill anything that gets in their way. By impersonating us, you not only put yourselves in danger, but you've lured hundreds of people into a false sense of security!"

Suddenly, Mia heard her Samuraizer going off. She glared through her helmet at the teens before picking it up, hoping it was Mentor Ji with some news.

To her relief, she was right.

She put away her Samuraizer and for the last time she growled at the impersonators.

"You're lucky my teammates know how to do their jobs properly," she said. "They found the kid that Nighlok took and they brought her home."

"Already?" Benson frowned.

"It's a lot easier to do when you actually know what you're doing. Now get out of my sight before you put anyone else in danger!"

Eyes wide from fear, the fake Rangers gathered up their stuff and rushed off, hoping not to suffer the wrath of the angry pink Ranger. Mia turned around, facing the crowd, and subtly nodded to Jayden, Kevin and Antonio before taking off to find a place where she could power down.


	137. Doubts

When Emily made it home she quickly explained what happened to Mentor Ji and then rushed into Mike's room while Mentor made the call to the other Rangers to let them know Emily was okay.

Emily knocked on Mike's bedroom door, though found the action to be a little useless. As far as she knew he was still resting from his less than pleasant encounter with the Mooger's blade.

She opened his door slowly and walked up to his bed. She took a seat in the chair by the bed and took his hand softly in hers.

Mike recognised her touch and his eyes fluttered open. He had heard the knocking on the door, but assumed it would only be Mentor Ji coming to check up on him. He smiled when he saw Emily looking at him.

"Well, look who finally decided to come home," he teased her.

Emily blushed, "Uh… you heard about that?"

"When Mentor walks into my room and tells Kevin and Mia you ran off, I kind of clue in," Mike chuckled. "So, where did you go?"

"The fake Rangers were signing autographs…"

"You wanted another one?"

"No," Emily shook her head and rolled her eyes, "They hurt you."

"I guess you went to teach them not to mess with a real Samurai, huh?" Mike smirked, squeezing Emily's hand.

"I stopped myself before I got into trouble," Emily told him, "but… I guess that didn't exactly work out…"

"What do you mean?" Mike asked, curious as to what happened. It had been hard enough to stay in bed when he heard Emily had run off, but now he was hearing that something had happened. Even injured, he still wanted to keep her safe and happy, no matter the cost.

"I didn't know what to do about the fake Rangers so… I called Serena."

"Emily, it's the middle of the night for her," Mike frowned and rolled his eyes. Contacting Serena was no longer off limits for any of the Rangers, least of all Emily, but the time difference was still a matter that needed to be considered. Emily chuckled.

"That's why she sounded tired…"

"Remind me to teach you about time zones," Mike smirked. "So, what did Serena say?"

"She said she had a plan and I needed to trust her," Emily explained while in her head she was trying to think of a gentle way to tell Mike about her sister's plan. She needed to say it carefully so Mike wouldn't freak out. She was still a little freaked out, and she knew she wasn't in any danger.

"What's the plan?" Mike asked eagerly. He was just as excited to expose the fake Rangers. After getting hurt, he didn't want anyone else to suffer because the fakes didn't know what they were doing.

"Uh… well…"

Suddenly the bedroom door flew open and the four other Rangers rush in.

"Emily!" they cried, swallowing the yellow Ranger in a hug, relieved to see she was okay.

Mike stared at the display curiously, wondering why his friends were behaving this way. When he had seen Emily sitting next to him he thought the others had found her and brought her home. Apparently he was wrong.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Kevin asked, his voice sounding concerned as he looked over his little sister for any injuries.

Emily shook her head and sighed. So much for explaining things gently and carefully to Mike…

"Hurt you?" Mike gasped, pushing himself up only to stretch the scars on his back. He howled in pain and dropped back down onto his stomach.

"I'm fine," Emily assured her friends. She squeezed Mike's hand gently to let him know she was being honest. "Serena sent him. It's a long story but…"

"Serena?" Kevin growled.

Emily shook her head, "It's not like that! He didn't hurt me, he didn't even try. As soon as we got into the forest he let me go and told me to go home."

Her friends shot her disbelieving looks. While Dekker was a mysterious man and he had helped the Rangers in the past, it had always come at a price for them.

"He must have done something," Antonio said. "Did he ask you any questions? Are you sure you didn't black out? You're not hiding something, are you?"

"He said he promised Serena he wouldn't hurt me," Emily nodded her head. "I'm fine, I promise."

Still, her friends didn't look like they believed her. Emily groaned loudly and rolled her eyes.

"Fine. He mentioned duelling with Jayden," she said. "Apparently he's living and training with Serena while she keeps an eye on him. As long as he's in Japan with her, he's not hurting us."

"Is he hurting Serena?" Mia asked. Emily frowned. She hadn't thought of that. When she first heard Dekker was with Serena she had voiced her desire for him to leave her sister alone, afraid that her _would_ hurt her. She didn't think that it was possible that he could _already be_ hurting her.

But when she has phoned Serena, her older sister didn't sound like she was hurt in anyway, and Emily knew what her sister sounded like when she wasn't healthy and in top form. Even when she was talking to her friend on the other end, which Emily assumed was Dekker, she didn't sound hurt or scared. Annoyed at most, maybe.

"I don't think so," she shook her head. "He just said he was training with her and they were both getting stronger."

Kevin sighed loudly, shook his head and rubbed his temples.

"All this Dekker stuff is giving me a headache," he muttered. "I'm going to get a glass of water."

"I'll come with you," Mia nodded. She gave Emily one last look, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Positive," Emily smiled.

"Okay," Mia didn't sound completely convinced, but it wouldn't be the first time Emily tried to hide her pain or fears from her friends. Mia decided to drop the matter though, and instead of asking Emily if she was okay, she would just keep an eye on her friend for the next few days.

She followed Kevin as they left the room to get him some water for his headache. Mia took his hand as they walked out and chuckled to him.

"Dekker really pisses you off, huh?"

"More than you can ever imagine…"

Jayden and Antonio stayed behind in the room for a moment, just to make sure everything was okay and to fill Emily and Mike in on what happened after Dekker had taken Emily.

"The fakes quit," Jayden announced. "They couldn't handle the pressure and they turned themselves in."

"Wait, really?" Mike frowned, a little surprised to hear that.

"They didn't want to take responsibility for what happened," Jayden nodded.

"Don't worry, they pissed off Mia," Antonio chuckled. "She basically threw everything back in their faces. She told them that what happened to you, and what could have happened to Emily was all because of them. I doubt they, or anyone else for that matter, will try stealing our identities from us again."

"They should consider themselves lucky, too," Jayden smirked. "They didn't have to deal with Mia when she was poisoned."

"Please don't remind me," Antonio shifted uncomfortably, "I still have nightmares that that Mia isn't gone completely."

Jayden pat his best friend on the back as he led him out of the room, "Don't worry. I'm sure Mia won't hurt you. Just make sure you do as she says."

"Easy for you to say, you're team leader. No one ever tells you what to do. I'm the last to join! Lowest rank!"

Jayden playfully shoved his friend out the door and chuckled.

Mike and Emily were now alone.

Mike turned his head back to Emily and looked up at her.

"Dekker didn't hurt you, did he?" he asked. If Emily was hiding something from the others he hoped she would tell him.

"I'm fine," Emily nodded. Mike locked eyes with her for a moment, trying to read her. As far as he could tell she wasn't hiding anything. She didn't seem hurt or scared, at least, not because of Dekker.

He placed his hands at his sides and slowly pushed himself up. Emily tried to stop him from sitting up in bed, but he told her he couldn't lie down anymore. His neck was starting to hurt from the awkward posture and he needed to sit up.

Knowing there wasn't anything she could do to stop him without hurting him Emily decided to help him find a way to sit so he was comfortable. She fluffed the pillows behind him just before he leaned back. She tried to soften the bed as much as she could so there wouldn't be anything that would hurt his scars.

Suddenly she felt Mike tugging on her arm. Emily turned to him and saw he was smiling.

"Kevin wouldn't let us share a bed last night," he told her. "He insisted on taking the floor because he thought you would hurt me."

"I don't blame him," Emily nodded. "What if I had rolled over or accidentally…?"

"Em, when have you ever hurt me?" Mike asked her with a smile. He pulled on her arm a little harder, inviting her to sit with him. Emily accepted the invite, not that it would have taken much to convince her anyways. She sat down with Mike as he pulled her into his arms. It hurt when she leaned into him but he didn't care, and he didn't let it show. It felt much better having her in his arms anyways, than sitting beside the bed.

"Hey," he looked down at her, "you remember when you got hurt and I played the flute for you?"

"Played?" Emily giggled. "More like disgraced flutists everywhere with noise."

"Ha-ha," Mike rolled his eyes, "anyways, would you mind playing something for me now that I'm the one stuck in bed?"

"My flute's in my room," Emily told him. "I would have to get up."

"Don't worry about it," Mike smirked. He turned to face the door and Emily could feel his chest rise as he took a deep breath. Suddenly he shouted: "MIA!"

"What are you doing?" Emily giggled. "She's going to think you're hurt!"

"She'll do anything for you, and she can't say no to a man who's had his back torn to shreds while saving the life of young man. I say we take advantage of that."

"Mike, that's mean!"

Mia burst into the room after hearing Mike's call. She thought it was a little weird he would be calling for her specifically, but she didn't question it. If he was hurt, she wanted to help.

"What happened?"

"Can you get Emily's flute from your room?" Mike asked and he mustered up a hurt look. "I could use a little musical healing and after Emily's encounter with Dekker…"

Mia sighed and shook her head before turning her attention to Emily, "Where is it?"

"You don't have to get. I'll do it…"

Mia lifted a hand, "I'm already here. I may as well serve your weak and pathetic boyfriend. Where's the flute?"

"My night table," Emily answered. "Top drawer. It's in the case."

"Thanks," Mia shot Mike another look before turning to fetch the flute.

"Did you hear that?" Mike gasped in mock hurt once Mia was out of the room. "She called me weak and pathetic?"

"You made her run all this way to get something I could have gotten myself," Emily laughed. "That is a little weak and pathetic."

Mike gave Emily a look before moving his hands along her sides and tickling her. Emily squirmed in his arms and Mike groaned in pain when she pressed into him, putting pressure on his back.

She immediately gasped when she heard the pained groan and pulled away from Mike.

"I'm sorry! I…"

"Em, it was my fault," he told her, pulling her back into his arms.

Mia walked back into the room with Emily's flute. She handed the instrument to the yellow Ranger with a smile and then rolled her eyes again at Mike. He stuck his tongue out while Emily thanked the pink Ranger.

When Mia left the room, catching only the start of Emily's music, she went to find Kevin.

He was sitting on his stool in the common room and she walked up to him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and took a seat behind him.

"Head feeling better?" she asked.

Kevin shook his head, "Is Mike okay?"

"Well, he's back to his regular self," Mia chuckled. "He wanted Emily to play her flute for him."

"Let me guess, you had to go get Emily's flute because they were cuddling?"

"We would have done the same thing," Mia smirked and kissed Kevin's cheek. "So, I take it water didn't help the headache."

"You know what would help the headache?" Kevin sighed, "If Emily had let Jayden take care of Dekker once and for all in that duel. He would have been done and we would have one less problem to take care of."

"Well, he did help us with the posers," Mia shrugged her shoulders, "but I get what you're saying."

"And now Serena's working with him as well," Kevin pointed out. "I mean, Emily said so herself, Serena's helping him train!"

"I doubt it's by choice."

"I hope it's by choice," Kevin said. He turned around in his seat so he was facing Mia. "If it's not, we've got a hostage situation to deal with on top of Dekker, on top of Master Xandred and the Nighloks. I bet our parents never had to deal with that."

"Probably not," Mia sighed. "So what are we going to do about Serena? I mean, I doubt she would turn on Emily, right? I know you haven't forgiven her completely after she helped Dekker last time, but…"

"But what?" Kevin asked when Mia trailed off. "You know just as well as I do that Serena was a little too convincing when she attacked us; attacked Emily! I know you've forgiven her, but you're not stupid."

"Emily trusts her…"

"And it could have gotten her killed," Kevin groaned. "I don't know what game Dekker's playing, and I don't know how Serena fits into all this, but if Emily's right and Serena did send him, she just gambled with Emily's life! Dekker could have done what he wanted; you and I both know that's the truth."

"Yeah, but…"

Kevin took Mia's hands, "Emily's also your little sister. She's mine too. We wanted those posers to stop imitating us. We were probably more desperate than anyone. But we never considered putting Emily or anyone in danger to do so."

"Are you saying Serena's aligned herself with Dekker?" Mia asked, gulping loudly.

"It wouldn't be the first time," Kevin nodded. "Besides, who lets their enemy live with them?"

"Friends close, enemies closer?"

"If she wanted to keep him close, she wouldn't have left him unattended with Emily. And that doesn't explain why she's training with him. Or why she's helping him train so he can kick basically kill us."

"I hope you're wrong," Mia whispered, leaning into Kevin's chest as thoughts started racing through her head. Now she understood why he had a headache.

He kissed the top of her head, "Hostage situation doesn't sound very pleasant either, though."

"Still…"


	138. Friend or Foe?

The following morning, Kevin grumbled as he dragged his feet along the floor and made his way into the kitchen for some breakfast and a lot of coffee. He hadn't gotten much sleep as a result of all the questions running through his head.

He thought that when Serena left for Japan, all the tension she caused would leave with her. In the time she was gone, Kevin started to understand exactly what she had tried to accomplish by aligning herself with Dekker and fighting against him and his friends.

But now that she had sent Dekker to kidnap Emily as part of a plan, and left him completely unattended, Kevin was starting to question just how loyal Serena was to her sister and the Samurai. It wasn't like she didn't have a reason for turning against them. In all fairness, when they thought she died trying to save them, they left her behind and fled the country. If Kevin sacrificed himself for his friends, he would want them to be safe, but he would also be a little pissed off if the first thing they did was turn their backs.

He was a little surprised when he saw the coffee was already brewed. He touched the side of the pot to make sure the coffee was still warm before pouring himself a cup.

"Good morning to you too," he heard Mia call and suddenly realised she was there. In his sleepy, distracted state he hadn't paid much attention to his surroundings and had obviously ignored her. He grumbled again as he walked over to the table and sat down, mug in his hands.

"Sorry, I didn't sleep at all last night."

"Neither did I," Mia sighed. Kevin looked up at her and realised she was in the same boat as him. He had shared his concerns and doubts about Serena with her, and obviously Mia would be just as worried as him. "I got up at about 3:00. I just can't fall asleep."

Kevin looked up at the clock and noticed it was only 4:39 AM. Not even Jayden or Mentor would be up at this time. They were sleeping peacefully, just like the rest of the house.

"Mike's not keeping you up, is he?" Mia asked her boyfriend as Kevin rubbed his eyes and yawned. Sleeping arrangements had gone back to normal, with everyone in their own rooms and beds, leaving Kevin to care for Mike if something were to occur in the middle of the night.

Kevin shook his head, "It's not Mike. He's out like a light. Whatever Mentor gave him to help with the pain really worked."

"So, why are you up?" Mia asked. Kevin shot her a look. He was certain she already knew the answer to that.

"Too many thoughts," Kevin told her. "You?"

He already knew the answer but he just wanted to keep a conversation going.

"Serena called Emily," Mia said, "sometime just before midnight… I think. Apparently Dekker just got back to the Tengen Gate and Serena wanted to make sure we were okay."

"Do you think it's genuine concern, or do you think she's just playing?" Kevin questioned. Mia sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"At first I thought it was genuine," she admitted. "I mean, Serena was so… not herself when we were all angry at her for betraying us. She really wanted to earn our trust back… Emily's especially… but the more I convinced myself that she was being genuine, the more I started to doubt myself… if that makes any sense."

"It might be because my common sense and logic still aren't awake, but I'm following you," Kevin assured her.

Mia rested her elbows on the table and propped her arms up. She dropped her head into her palms and sighed loudly.

"I just started to wonder if maybe she is helping Dekker, like you said. I mean, she's training with him, and she sends him to help us… and he does as he's told? He's promised a lot of things in the past and he's kept all his promises, but he's twisted them to get what he wants. For all we know he could have promised not to hurt Emily, but killing us would have been fair game. But he didn't do it! He didn't even try! Why wouldn't he?"

Kevin nodded his head. Mia was making a good point. Emily had told them that Dekker promised her sister that he wouldn't hurt her. Technically, as long as he didn't hurt Emily, holding her hostage so the rest of the team came after her and destroying them wouldn't be breaking his promise to Serena. Yet it seemed that thought never crossed his mind. Emily managed to find her way home in a matter of minutes after he took off with her. If Dekker wanted to try anything, surely he would have kept her for longer.

"It sounds like a complicated plan, though," he pointed out. "I mean, for one, it'll take a lot of time before they can do anything, and Serena's also got to earn our full trust."

"She might also be trying to get us to trust Dekker," Mia said. "She probably knows we'll never fully trust him, but if she can convince us that she's got him on a short leash, she might think we'll let our guard down when we're around both of them together."

"So that when Dekker goes go to duel Jayden, we won't be ready. We'll think we're safe because she's there."

"There's only one problem with that, though," Mia grumbled. "Dekker doesn't want Jayden to let his guard down. He wants a challenging fight…"

"So he wouldn't want us… or Jayden at least, to think we're safe…"

"And that's why I can't sleep," Mia muttered. "Those questions keep racing through my mind. What's Dekker's got planned. Why is Serena helping him? Why didn't he just kill us when he had the chance?"

"He could be trying to kill us off one by one," Kevin sighed. He hated himself for thinking these things, especially about Emily's beloved sister, but he couldn't face being unprepared for any surprises. He would rather apologize to Serena for not trusting her, than trusting her and letting himself be fooled. He looked over to Mia and noted the confusion on her face.

"One by one?" she asked.

"We know he doesn't like when we interfere," Kevin shrugged his shoulders, "What if he plans on duelling Jayden only after getting rid of us? That way Jayden will be pissed and there'll be no one to interrupt his duel to the death."

"How does Serena factor into that, though?" Mia asked. "It's not like he needs her help to kill us. I hate to say it but, Jayden aside, we don't stand a chance against him individually. We can barely kick his ass when we're a team."

"You trust Serena, right?" Kevin asked his girlfriend, "I mean, before you starting wondering about her and Dekker, you would have trusted her."

"Yeah, I guess," Mia answered. "I didn't really have a reason not to trust her. I wasn't really mad at her after the whole helping Dekker deal. She was trying to keep us safe."

"Mike trusts her, too. He said it himself. He was a little mad at her when she left, but not like Antonio or I…"

"Antonio was pretty pissed when he heard she would let Dekker beat the shit out of Jayden," Mia nodded her head. "I don't think he doesn't trust her, though. I think he's just a little more careful where she's concerned."

"It's probably the same for Jayden," Kevin said. "He told us he believed her story when she said she was protecting us, but I think he would still be a little careful around her."

"But… all in all, no matter how pissed or scared, if she came knocking on our door right now, we would take her in," Mia pointed out and Kevin nodded his head in agreement. Things were a little different with all these questions going through his head, but if she were to turn up at this very moment, he wouldn't turn her away. He would keep his eye on her, but he wouldn't ask questions.

"Okay, so I guess, when it comes down to it, we don't trust her… but we do," Kevin shook his head. He knew what he was saying, but he knew it wasn't making sense. Pieces weren't falling perfectly into place, but there was definitely reason to doubt Serena's loyalty.

"I think there's only one person in this house who would trust her no matter what," Mia said and Kevin knew instantly who she was talking about.

"You're right," he sighed. "Emily's terrified of Dekker… but she comes back home after being kidnapped by him, and she shows no fear… all because this was apparently Serena's plan."

"She was hurt when Serena betrayed us, but they've patched things up and now it's back to total trust," Mia nodded. "Emily trusts Serena so much that as long as Serena's promising her safety, Emily will do or believe almost anything. If Serena were to tell Emily to trust Dekker…"

"Victim one of six."

Mia's blood ran cold when she heard Kevin utter those words. He made it sound like killing Emily would be no challenge to Dekker, and surely, if Serena was involved, it wouldn't be. And once Dekker killed one of them, Mia knew the others would fall easily. Rage, grief and revenge were not emotions that allowed one to think logically, which was needed when confronting the mad warrior. If they attacked him angrily, he could surely steal a victory without breaking a sweat.

Suddenly Emily rushed into the room, bounding with excitement.

"They're on the news! They're on the news!"

Mia furrowed her brow at the young Ranger while Kevin turned to the clock and noticed he and Mia had been talking for nearly two hours, trying to figure Dekker and Serena out. At this time in the morning, most of the Rangers were usually awake eating breakfast and getting ready for early morning training.

Emily, apparently, had been watching the news.

"Who's on?" Mia asked.

"The fake Rangers!" Emily smiled, "There's a whole news report about it! People aren't happy about being lied to and apparently it's gone to court."

"Seriously?" Kevin asked.

"They're figuring out what punishment to give the fake Rangers," Emily nodded. "You know, community service or something like that. You have to come see!"

"We'll be right there, Emily," Mia assured the yellow Ranger.

Emily nodded and raced out of the room, clearly excited about the fact that the fake Rangers were getting what they deserved.

When Emily was gone, Mia turned to Kevin.

"She's not scared at all," she whispered.

Kevin tried to give Serena and Dekker the benefit of the doubt, though he didn't trust them for a second, nor did he think they deserved it.

"Dekker did let her go… maybe she's just…"

"You remember when he kidnapped the two of you?" Mia asked. "Do you remember the state Emily came back in? Do you remember how terrified she was?"

"Mortified."

"Do you know I'm still not allowed to mention Dekker's name after dark because she has nightmares?" Mia continued. "And even if he didn't do anything, there would still be _'what if" _thoughts racing through her head."

"I know…" Kevin sighed. Mia was right. Even he was still scared from the time Dekker kidnapped him. Dekker never hurt him, just like he hadn't hurt Emily this time, but it took Kevin a few days at least to get over the panic and worry. There was no way Emily would bounce back so quickly. "We'll talk with the others; let them know Serena might not be the ally we think she is."

"Good luck with that," Mia said. She got up and motioned to the common room door, "We should probably follow her before she bounces back in here."

"Time to put on the _everything's okay_ face," Kevin sighed. He took Mia's hand in his and smiled as they both joined Emily, Jayden, Antonio and Mike, who with a little help made it into the common room to watch TV. The couple took a seat on their stools, which had been pushed side by side. Kevin turned to Emily, "So, any updates on the posers?"


	139. Forewarned is Forearmed

Dekker was learning a lot from the Guardian of the Tengen Gate. When he first started training with her, he knew he would be learning some new practices, but he never thought he would be challenged like this. She was good. Not red Ranger good, but good nonetheless.

And she was getting better as well. Training with him was a huge honour, or, at least, Dekker thought it was. He had been training for centuries. He had so much more experience than any man on Earth. He could do things with a sword that no other human, or Nighlok, could do, and, through her training with him, Serena was picking up on many things.

But he was still surprised when he hit the ground hard and saw Serena standing over him; her hand outstretched, waiting to help him up.

"You've beaten me," he said with a trace of shock in his tone. Serena shrugged her shoulders and pulled him to his feet.

"It's just training" she answered. "Training and real battles are two very different situations. I doubt I would be able to beat you in a duel to the death."

"Still," Dekker breathed. He snatched a water bottle from one of the servants as he came by. He poured the water into his mouth while Serena glared at him. The servant offered her a bottle and she took it, but not without thanking the man.

"You know, he didn't have to do that," she told Dekker as he finished his water and tossed the bottle aside so someone else could pick it up.

"I am his master. He lives to serve me."

"He lives to protect the Gate," Serena said. "Besides, no one here owes you any favours. I'm the Guardian, you're a guest."

"You want me to thank him?" Dekker asked. Serena rolled her eyes. The man had a lot of skill with the sword, but he lacked manners.

"It would be the polite thing to do" she nodded. Dekker turned to the servant and bowed slightly.

"Thank you."

The servant looked up at him for a moment, trembling slightly in fear. He didn't approve of Dekker staying at the Tengen Gate, but Serena had promised his safety and he was loyal to the Guardian.

Dekker couldn't stand the servant staring at him.

"Well, you have other duties. Go do them!" he barked and the servant took off. Serena sighed and rubbed her temples.

"And you wonder why people don't warm up to you."

"I do not concern myself with what people think of me," Dekker said. "I am only interested in…"

"One thing, I know, I know," Serena rolled her eyes. "Is it still the Jayden thing, or have you finally moved onto something else? You know, something that involves less blood, guts and death. I think my grandmother's still got her knitting club. Knitting needles aren't as deadly as swords, but they make one hell of a winter scarf."

"Are you mocking me?" Dekker asked Serena with a glare.

"No!" she gasped sarcastically, "Of course not! I would never mock you! Nor would I ever ask you to get the hell off my lawn! Why would you accuse me of such things? Is it because, you know, you want to kill my friend?"

"Friends," Dekker corrected, "Plural. I cannot touch the red Ranger as long as they continue to get in my way."

"Great," Serena scoffed. She put her sword away and grabbed her water bottle before bending over and picking up Dekker's from the ground. She tossed it back at him, "Well, considering you're still a dick bent on murder, you can put your own bottle away."

"I take it you still don't approve of my duel with the red Ranger?"

"You think?"

"It's too bad," Dekker mused with a smirk on his face, "We could have been great allies."

"Dream on…"

-Samurai-

"You think Serena's aligned herself with Dekker?" Jayden asked as he sat at his desk in his room with Kevin and Mia on his bed. He turned to them, a look of shock on his face. Both nodded to him.

"She's letting him live with her. She's training with him. She helped him once before. She let him kidnap Emily. Do you need any more proof?" Kevin said. Jayden sighed and shook his head.

"I thought we cleared everything up," he said. "Serena and Dekker… that's their business."

"It's our business if Serena's working with him," Mia pointed out. "As long as we trust Serena, we're all in trouble. We trust her."

"But we don't trust Dekker. There's a difference," Jayden explained. "If Serena asked me for a favour, I would consider doing it. If she asked me for a favour involving Dekker, I would refuse the second I heard his name."

"Emily wouldn't," Kevin said. "Serena's got her little sister wrapped around her finger. Emily would do anything Serena says."

"And Mike can be swayed too" Mia added. "He'll do anything for Emily, and he'll do almost anything for Serena's approval. A little lie here and there, Emily's name gets mentioned and suddenly we've got a green Ranger who would also get caught in a trap."

"We're not saying Serena's turned on us for sure," Kevin nodded, "but we have to consider the possibility that she's not our friend anymore. If that's the case, we all need to be vigilant."

The door opened and Antonio stepped in while holding the Black Box. He had been working on it for most of the morning with no luck. Tired, he placed the box on Jayden's desk before turning to his friends.

"What are we talking about?" he asked.

"Serena," Kevin answered him. "We think she might be playing games."

"Games?" Antonio frowned. He still wasn't pleased with Serena, but he was certain she was still an ally to the Rangers. Apparently not everyone felt the same way.

"Would you ever ask Dekker to kidnap any of us?" Mia asked the gold Ranger. "Even if he promised he wouldn't hurt us when he did. Would you trust him?"

Antonio shook his head, "The guy wants to kill my best friend. Why would I trust a word he says?"

"Exactly," Kevin answered. "When Serena was here, she kept reminding us that she would never do anything that would put Emily in danger, yet…"

"Dekker kidnapped Emily," Antonio finished for the blue Ranger when he realised where Kevin was going. The swimmer nodded his head.

"Now do you see what we mean?"

Antonio turned to Jayden, "I think they're right, amigo. Dekker's trouble, we know that already. What do we know about Serena?"

"She's Emily's sister," Jayden said. "She was supposed to be the yellow Ranger…"

"She was supposed to be the yellow Ranger but she's not. Emily took her place.

"She was sick," Jayden shrugged. "Besides, we gave her a chance to take it back and…"

"She couldn't have taken it if she wanted," Mia reminded Jayden. "She mentioned the ape wouldn't listen to her when Emily was around, and if it did, it took a lot more power to control."

"Okay, so she wasn't the chosen yellow, but she's still the Guardian of the Tengen Gate…"

"Yeah, stuck in Japan with no friends or family around," Kevin rolled his eyes. "Sounds like a vacation to me…"

"And we did leave her for dead," Antonio piped in. "Meanwhile, Dekker's saved her life twice. He cured her when she was sick and pulled her from the rubble. Thanks to him, she's still alive. Why wouldn't she consider aligning herself with him after we left?"

"She would never turn on Emily," Jayden tried to convince his friends, but even he had a little doubt about Serena now. "She made that clear last time…"

"Actions speak louder than words, Jay," Antonio told his friend. "She said she would never hurt Emily, but she did let Dekker kidnap her."

"He didn't do anything."

"Why?" Kevin asked. "What's he got planned? Why did he keep his promise to Serena? What does he owe her?"

"More importantly: why does Serena trust him?" Mia finished.

Jayden sighed and shook his head. He gave his three friends a worried look. He agreed with them, but accusing Serena of betraying them was a big deal. Of course, he knew they wouldn't be making these accusations if they didn't think something was wrong.

Trusting his team, he let out a deep breath, "Have you spoken to Mike and Emily about this?"

"Not yet," Mia shook her head.

"They need to be warned," he said. "Unless we want to be caught completely by surprise, the entire team needs to know about this. I'll tell Mentor."

"Great," Kevin sighed. He turned to Mia and Antonio, "That means we have to tell Emily and Mike…"


	140. Hard Talk

Morning training could have gone a lot better for most of the Rangers. Mia and Kevin had hardly gotten any sleep in the night and were too tired to put in their best effort. They were also dreading the meeting that had been called, as were Antonio and Jayden. All four Rangers knew it wasn't going to be an easy talk, but due to the nature of their duties everyone needed to be on the same page. One little mistake, one miscommunication could mean the end of one Ranger's life, if not more. No matter how difficult the talks were going to be, and no matter how much they might hurt, they were needed. Jayden would rather see his Rangers hurting and safe, than betrayed and dead.

When Mentor called the end of training the Rangers made their way into the common room. Mentor was congratulating Mike and Emily on a job well done. They had been the only two Rangers who had worked their butts off. Mentor was aware of the reason Jayden, Antonio, Mia and Kevin were so distracted, but he figured there was no harm in praising two of his students for their fine work, especially when they had a difficult talk ahead of them.

The Rangers and Mentor took their seats and Mike and Emily could already sense that they were the odd ones out. Everyone else was exchanging glances and sympathetic expressions, while they were clueless about what was going to be the topic of discussion.

Once they were all comfortable in their seats, Mentor began.

"As you all know, honesty, trust and loyalty are very important not only for the Samurai, but for families. As we have already established, we seven have come together and have formed a family. We work together to complete tasks, accomplish goals and thwart Master Xandred. I have no doubt that each of you trusts the other people in this room completely."

"With our lives," Jayden added with a nod. "We have to, and we do."

"That is why we must all listen carefully," Mentor said and he turned his attention to Emily and Mike, but Mike in particular. While he knew Emily was going to hate this meeting the most, Mike had a habit of speaking out and running off when he didn't want to listen. This could very well be another time where he let his temper get the better of him. "Is that understood?"

"Yes," the Rangers all nodded.

"Good," Mentor then turned to Kevin. He had been the first to raise these suspicions and therefore it was his place to address them properly with the rest of the team. "Kevin, is there something on your mind?"

Kevin took a deep breath, "While I'm glad the posers have cut the act and are being punished rightfully…"

"Three hundred hours of community service," Mike interrupted with a smirk. "That's a lot of hours."

"They put a lot of people in danger by faking it," Jayden acknowledged and this time he chose against reprimanding Mike for interrupting. He was going to have to pick his battles, and this one wasn't worth winning. "A lot of people were pretty mad. A lot of kids were disappointed."

"I'm not defending them," Mike gestured to his back, "Do you know how much pain I'm still in, dude? The only reason I'm up is because Master Xandred's not going to hold off on the Nighlok just because I'm in bed."

Suddenly, the green Ranger turned to Mentor, eyes wide, "Wait, is this what we're talking about? Is it something to do with Master X? Don't tell me he's getting stronger…"

"As far as we know we're still able to handle him," Mentor nodded, "Though we should get the Black Box running as soon as possible."

"I'm working on it, Mentor," Antonio sighed. He had two more symbols left: Mike and Jayden. Neither symbol was being cooperative. Jayden's symbol was the most powerful symbol of all and was going to take the most energy, and Antonio was discovering just how much of an influence the Samurai and the symbols had over each other. Mike's symbol was just as rebellious as he was.

"So, if this isn't about Master Xandred, what is it about?" Emily asked Kevin. He seemed to be taking the lead in this conversation. Surely he would know what he was trying to get at. If he didn't, this conversation would be going nowhere.

"It's…" Kevin let out another sigh and quickly glanced at Mia. She smiled, letting him know he had her full support. He smiled back, happy she was on his side for this. "I know it's thanks to Serena and Dekker that the posers decided to cut the crap and run…"

"The running part was thanks to Mia," Antonio commented. He smirked and turned to the pink Ranger, "You can be very persuasive when you're angry."

"You learned that the hard way, huh?" Mia chuckled.

Mentor cleared his throat in an attempt to keep the Rangers on topic. He knew there was going to be a lot of attempts to shy away from this conversation. No one wanted to be a part of it, but it was important they discuss the matter at hand.

"Anyways," Kevin continued, "It's not totally out of character for Dekker to appear out of the blue and help us. He's done it a few times already, and while it's kind of creepy and really suspicious, we all know why he does it, and we know what he's trying to accomplish."

"He wants a duel with me," Jayden nodded. "He wants me at my best, and obviously he's going to do anything to make sure that happens."

"Dude, we know," Mike sighed, rolling his eyes. They had been over this time and time again. It was getting really old, and if Kevin hadn't been the one to bring up Dekker, Mike would have said something about Jayden being arrogant and wanting to remind everyone he was the best. While it was true, it didn't need to be mentioned every other day. "Dekker thinks the sun shines out of your ass and he'll do anything to keep Master Xandred from hurting you. He's a deranged mad man who follows his own set of rules, codes and blah, blah, blah…"

"I'm glad you brought that up, Michael," Mentor said and Mike turned to the older man. Mentor simply nodded and turned to Emily, "Dekker's not the only one who thinks highly of someone else."

Under Mentor's gaze, Emily pointed to herself and shot him a curious look, "Me?"

"In a strange way, Dekker seems to think the world of Jayden," Mentor said. "He had made Jayden his entire life…"

"Way to make it sound creepier than it already was," Antonio muttered.

Mentor rolled his eyes and continued with Emily, "You have done the same with your sister."

"Is that a bad thing?" Emily asked. Now she was really confused. She turned to the rest of her team to see if she could read them for any answers. They all shook their heads.

"No, it's not," Mia assured her. "It's a good thing. Serena is a really good Samurai and she's a great person to look up to! I kind of look up to her too now but…"

"But?" Emily pressed.

"Well…" Mia lowered her head and Kevin quickly jumped in, choosing to take over and just say it. There was no sense dragging it on now that the issue had a foot in the door.

"As far as we know she's with Dekker day and night," he said. "We know how crazy Dekker is… how determined he is to fight Jayden. And when he wants, he can manipulate anyone…"

"You think he's manipulating Serena?" Mike frowned, suddenly not liking where this was going.

"To put it nicely…"

"Nicely?" Mike shook his head, "Dude, if that's nicely, I don't want to know what you guys think is the truth! Serena's done so much for us already…"

"Michael," Mentor Ji warned the green Ranger. He hoped he could keep Mike in line.

"Think about it for a minute, Mike," Kevin turned to Emily, "You too, Em. Just… what has she done for us… since she came back, I mean…"

"I know you don't get it, dude, but she saved your ungrateful ass," Mike growled. "Dekker would have torn you and all of us apart if it weren't for Serena's plan! Maybe it was a little reckless but…"

"A little?" Kevin frowned, his muscles tensing up like they always did when Mike started yelling at him. "She let Dekker take on Jayden while she kept us distracted! She didn't hold back!"

"Obviously she did or we would all be dead!" Mike roared. "Serena's good, and if she's this good after being sick for eight years, I don't want to know how good she would be had she been able to train all that time!"

"She attacked us, Mike…"

"She had her reasons."

"And I don't doubt that," Kevin nodded. "But what were they?"

"She told us…"

"What we wanted to hear."

"Yeah," Mike scoffed. "So do you always get that pissed off at someone when they do as you tell them to do? When they say what you want them to say? Why the hell would she…?"

"If she's not aligned with Dekker, even a little bit, why the hell would she tell Dekker to kidnap Emily? Of all people, why her little sister?"

"Maybe because she knew that out of everyone here, Emily would trust her the most. Did you ever think of that?"

Kevin raised an eyebrow, "Did you, Mike?"

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back slightly, letting his words to the green Ranger sink in slowly. The look on anger on Mike's face slowly started to fade and was quickly replaced with worry.

"Oh…" he breathed, falling back into his seat. There was a moment of silence as Mike ran his hands through his hair. Finally, he looked up at Kevin, "But… then… why would Dekker…?"

"Mia thinks Dekker let her go so we would believe Serena's got him where she wants him. Given we all trust Serena, he would also have our trust as long as she said he was okay," Kevin explained. "Now do you get it, Mike?"

"But Dekker doesn't want Emily," Mike shook his head. "He wants Jayden…"

"We're not about to let him get Jayden, though," Kevin said. "We would put up a fight. What better way to ensure an uninterrupted battle than to kill all the people who interfere? And given how pissed off we know Jayden would be, we can only expect he would do anything he could to defeat Dekker."

"Giving him exactly what he wants," Antonio nodded. "It's like catching a fish and not losing your bait."

Mike let out a long, deep sigh as everything slowly started to sink in. He wanted to trust Serena. He wanted to know she was on their side, but Kevin and the others were bringing up some good points. Serena was behaving a little suspiciously right now, and Dekker, while he was always suspicious, he was behaving very differently. There was definitely something going on between the two, and with so much at stake, Mike couldn't afford to trust either of them.

He turned to Emily's seat, hoping maybe he could explain things to her in an easier manner. She hadn't said much since Kevin made his accusations, and he could only assume she was too hurt and confused to speak. Instead, he was a little surprised when he turned and saw that her silence was due to her absence.

"Where did…?"

"Emily took off," Mentor explained as he got up and started to make his way to the kitchen. "Mia followed her."

"Where are you going?" Jayden asked.

"You boys look like you could use some tea," Mentor said. He turned to Mike, "And you might want a few extra painkillers."

"Yeah, the knife Serena's put in our backs is kind of bothering me," Mike growled. "Though I'm not even thinking about what she's done to me, Mentor."

"Remember, Mike, this is only speculation," Mentor told the young Ranger. "We are not yet certain of the relationship between Dekker and Serena. We are only asking you to be cautious."


	141. To Trust Or Not To Trust

"You owe me."

Dekker pushed the statue back up and made sure it was steady before letting go and turning to look down at Serena. She was on the ground, katana by her side and her hands shielding her face. While training with Dekker he had backed her all the way into the statue and knocked her down. In her fall, she had knocked the statue off balance and the heavy, stone dragon threatened to fall on top of her. Had Dekker not been fast enough to catch it, she would have been tomorrow's pancake breakfast.

"Thanks," she whispered as he offered a hand. She didn't take it and helped herself back to her feet. She grabbed her katana and handed it to one of the servants as he began collecting the equipment. She looked to Dekker. "We're done for today."

Dekker frowned as he watched her walk back into the temple. He then felt a presence in his personal space and he turned to see the servant standing near him, arm outstretched.

"I can take…"

Dekker's fist clenched tightly around Urumasa.

"You are not worthy," he said. He shoved the servant aside and followed Serena into the temple. He saw she was seated on her cushion with a stuffed Ape on her lap and a book on the floor in front of her. When Dekker got closer he saw it was a picture book of the Rangers. He sat down next to Serena on the floor and looked at the pictures. "You miss home?"

"Every once in a while I wonder what they're up to," Serena nodded. "I also haven't seen my parents in a long time. They're probably worried sick. After you cured me I left them. I just took off and never had the chance to explain anything to them."

"I'm sure your parents realise you have a duty to fulfill," Dekker said gently. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "As for the Rangers…"

"Do you think they've opened the Black Box yet?" Serena asked.

Dekker shrugged his shoulders, "Does it matter?"

"Master Xandred is getting stronger," Serena sighed. "The Rangers are trying their best to keep up, but we all know that's not going to be enough. They need to stay one step ahead of him if they want to stop him. The Black Box might be the only thing that can help them."

"Does it worry you?" Dekker asked her, "The fate of the Rangers, I mean. Does it worry you to wonder what might happen?"

"Of course," Serena nodded. She turned and looked up at Dekker. Tears filled her eyes and threatened to spill over, but she wouldn't let them. She hated crying. It made her feel weak and she needed to be strong, especially now that she was alone. "What if I never see them again?"

Dekker noticed her squeezing the stuffed ape a little tighter and he gestured to the plush toy.

"What is it?" he asked. "I've never seen it here before. It does not fit the Temple."

Serena glanced at the ape and chuckled. She wiped away some of her tears.

"It's usually in my room," she told him and pointed to the book, "along with the pictures."

"I have been in your room, but I haven't seen them," Dekker frowned. "Have you left the Temple?"

"You won't let me, remember?" Serena sighed.

"Then where did you get it?"

"Emily gave it to me," Serena smiled. She hugged the ape against her chest, "When I left the Shiba house to come here… it was a parting gift. Well, she called it souvenirs."

"Is it special to her?"

Serena nodded her head, "I originally gave her the ape, well Monkey the Ape, when she had to leave for her Samurai duties. Knowing Emily, it was probably never far from her side the first few days she moved into the Shiba house. I was still sick back then and we didn't know if we would see each other again."

"The other Rangers must have items like that as well," Dekker said. "Something they all cherish."

"Maybe," Serena shrugged her shoulders, "but they were probably all excited to be moving away from home. They were all at that age, you know…"

"Aren't you excited to move out, then?" Dekker asked. "Are you not older? Have you not been living at home?"

"Move out?" Serena frowned. She shot Dekker a look before snatching her picture book from the ground and jumping to her feet. She glared down at the warrior. "You call this moving out? I'm alone on a different continent, away from my friends and family, in a giant Temple with a psychotic warrior for a roommate who forbids me from leaving! Yeah, I always dreamed this moment would come. Here, for good measure, why don't you lock me up in the basement?"

"I do not want to make you uncomfortable," Dekker said.

Serena rolled her eyes, "Oh, you don't want to make me uncomfortable? Okay, that makes it all better."

"Serena…"

"Screw you, Dekker," Serena snapped. She slammed the door behind her as she stormed out. Dekker quickly jumped up and followed her, not wanting her to leave the Tengen grounds. He needed her here, at his beck and call for when he was ready to train. She was the only guardian who didn't freeze up in fear when they sparred. She was the only one who put up a fight. She challenged him in ways no one else ever had, and while she wasn't the one Urumasa wanted, Dekker still felt like there was something pulling him towards her. He couldn't figure out what it was, but he knew there was something about her.

He chased her outside and caught her before she left the Gate. He pulled out Urumasa as he grabbed her and he held the blade to her neck until she stopped struggling.

"You do not leave," he growled, pulling her back onto the grounds. He shoved her forward and stood between her and the exit. He pointed to the Temple, "Go wash up. I'll make dinner. After we've eaten we'll train again. I'll show you how to disarm any opponent quickly, no matter the weapon they have in their hands."

Serena glared at Dekker before giving in and turning back to the Temple. Dekker put Urumasa back in its scabbard before following her inside without ever taking his eyes off her.

-Samurai-

Mia sat in the dirt next to Emily, trying to give the girl she space she wanted without leaving her alone. She knew it was probably hard to hear her friends doubting her sister, but if they wanted to keep her safe, and if they wanted to stay safe themselves, they all needed to understand that there was a possibility that there was something brewing between Dekker and Serena.

Emily was throwing a ball away continuously as her loyal puppy continued to bring the ball right back and drop it in her lap.

Suddenly, Mia felt a warm, moist weight in her lap and noticed Scruffy had given her the ball instead of giving it to Emily. She furrowed her brow as she glared at the drool infested tennis ball. It was disgusting.

Not wanting it on her lap, she pinched the ball between two fingers and lifted it slowly. Scruffy eyed the ball and waited patiently for Mia to throw it. When the pink Ranger did, it didn't go far, and Scruffy succeeded in catching it before it hit the ground once.

He brought the ball right back to Mia and dropped it in her lap.

"This is a stupid game," Mia muttered. Emily sighed. She picked up the ball from Mia's lap and threw it as far as she could.

"He can do this all day," she told her sister. "If you want him to stop, you have to hide the ball."

"That would involve touching it," Mia shook her head. "I don't want to touch it."

"Then go inside," Emily shrugged. "I'll play with Scruffy… alone."

"Can we talk, first?" Mia asked. Emily shrugged her shoulders.

"Are you going to try and convince me not to trust me sister?" she snapped.

"We're not asking you to not trust her," Mia said, "We're just asking you to be careful…"

"Right, because Serena's going to hurt me," Emily rolled her eyes. "You know why I don't believe you, right?"

"Yeah," Mia nodded. "And I get it. She's your sister, she's always protected you."

"I've barely known you for a year," Emily said. "I've known her my entire life. Do you see why this is hard?"

"I know, Emily, and I get it, but we're not just accusing your sister because we're bored and have nothing better to do. Kevin's really worried about this, and he had a right to be. We can't trust a lot of the people we meet, especially once they get involved with Dekker or Master Xandred. We have way too much at stake."

"Well tell your boyfriend to lay off," Emily muttered. "Serena's my sister. He doesn't know her like I do."

Mia bit her lip and sighed as Scruffy returned with the ball. Again, he placed it in Mia's lap. The pink Ranger groaned and lifted it up again slightly before Emily grabbed it from her and threw it away. Scruffy took off after it, wagging his tail happily.

"Do you know why I like Kevin?" Mia asked, breaking the silence between her and Emily. The yellow Ranger nodded her head.

"I get it," she said. "I mean, he's like a brother to me, but I guess you feel the same way about Mike…"

"I meant specifically," Mia chuckled. "Do you know why I still love him, even though he's always such a hard ass?"

"Why?"

"He cares," Mia smiled. "He cares a lot. And not just about me, though that would be important, huh?"

Emily nodded her head. Mia moved in closer to the yellow Ranger and nudged her slightly, trying to get Emily to smile as well.

"I guess it is," she said. "He was really worried when you were bit by that Nighlok. He didn't sleep at all."

"Well, that's why I love him," Mia nodded.

Emily turned to the pink Ranger, "Because he didn't sleep?"

"No," Mia shook her head and laughed, "Because he cares. When he gives people a hard time, it's because he cares. Remember when we first met and Kevin was giving Mike a hard time about his training? It was because he was worried about Mike. He wasn't taking training seriously and he was scared that Mike would get hurt in a battle. That's why he was always so pushy and tough on Mike. It was his way of telling Mike to smarten up. It was his way of caring."

"He has a funny way of showing it," Emily smirked.

"He cares about Jayden too," Mia smiled. "He took that hit for Jayden because he didn't want anything to happen to Jayden."

"I thought it was because Jayden has the sealing power," Emily said.

"Well, that was part of it," Mia nodded her head, "but sealing power or not, Jayden was one blast away from death. Even he knows it. Kevin would have jumped in front of that blast no matter what."

"So, he cares. Don't we all?" Emily asked. "What does this have to do with him accusing my sister? She would never hurt us! Never!"

"Just, listen to me, okay?" Mia said. "Kevin gave Antonio a hard time because he was worried Antonio would hold us back and we would all get hurt. He took it a little too far, but he wasn't trying to hurt Antonio for the hell of it. He was genuinely scared that Antonio wouldn't be up to speed and that someone would get hurt."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Emily rolled her eyes, "Kevin cares, he's not trying to hurt Serena… blah, blah…"

"Emily, those are just the boys," Mia smiled. She wrapped her arm around the yellow Ranger's shoulders. "You and me, we're different."

"Um… how?" Emily frowned.

"Boys are boys," Mia shrugged, "he doesn't want to see them get hurt, but he knows they can protect themselves…"

"And what? We can't?" Emily muttered. "Explain again why you love him?"

"He knows we can but… it's…" Mia paused and tried to find a way to explain it to Emily. "It's… you know Mike, right?"

"Yeah," Emily shot Mia a knowing look.

"Mike's told you time and time again that he wants to protect you, right? He wants to keep you safe."

"Yeah."

"It's because he cares about you," Mia stated. "He loves you, and he doesn't want you to get hurt. You probably feel the same way about him, right? I bet you wish that Mooger had sliced you in the back and not Mike."

Emily nodded her head, "I don't like when he's hurt…"

"That's what it's like with me and Kevin. He knows I can protect myself, but he doesn't want to risk it. If he could, he would protect me from _everything._"

"Okay, okay, I get it…"

"He'd do the same for you," Mia interrupted. She squeezed Emily gently and offered her best friend a smile. "Look, like it or not, you're our little sister. We all want to protect you from everything; Mike, Kevin and I especially. That's why we have these doubts. If Serena did turn and you trusted her… well…"

"She didn't turn," Emily growled.

"But… hypothetically…"

"Not even hypothetically," Emily shook her head. "Serena would never…"

"Emy…"

"I get it, okay," Emily pushed herself to her feet as Scruffy raced back with the ball. He held it in his mouth excitedly when he saw Emily getting up. But the yellow Ranger wasn't going to play with him. She glared hatefully at Mia. "I know you want to protect me and you're only trying to keep me safe. Whatever. But I trust Serena. I trust you, but I trust her more…"

"Emily…"

"She's my sister and I'm not going to doubt her just because you guys are scared of Dekker. He scares me too, but I trust Serena. She wouldn't hurt me or anyone else! She's not going to let Dekker duel Jayden, and she's not going to let him kill us, okay?"

Mia lowered her head as Emily stomped off, clearly angry. Serena had always been a very touchy topic with Emily, and while Mia wasn't surprised by the outcome of her talk with Emily, she had still expected better results.

Instead, Emily had confirmed her's and Kevin's fears.

Scruffy watched his master storm off in a huff and turned to Mia, the ball still in his mouth. Mia looked back at him and shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on her, huh?"

Scruffy stepped forward and held his head out. Suddenly, Mia felt a warm, moist weight on her lap. She groaned and rolled her eyes as Scruffy backed off and eyed the ball playfully, waiting for Mia to throw it.

"You're kidding me, right?"

She pinched the ball with two fingers and threw it towards the house. As Scruffy chased after it, she got up and followed Emily inside. Scruffy noticed Mia was headed towards the house and he grabbed his ball and chased her inside.


	142. Is Blood Really Thicker Than Water?

Kevin noticed that both Mia and Emily had returned home looking upset and disappointed, as well as at different times. Emily had rushed inside, grabbed Mike, and locked herself and him in her room. It wasn't a good hiding spot if she was trying to get away from Mia, considering they shared a room, but the look on Mia's face when she walked in suggested to Kevin that she was also going to keep her distance; at least for now.

Mia grabbed the ball from Scruffy's mouth reluctantly and set it back in the basket before heading to the bathroom to wash her hands. She had touched some slimy and disgusting things in her time, but nothing was as bad to her as dog drool.

Kevin followed her into the bathroom, wanting to know how her talk with Emily went. He leaned against the doorframe as she scrubbed her hands.

"Do I want to ask?"

Mia shrugged her shoulders, "Let's just say, I'm not surprised by the outcome."

"She didn't take it well, I guess?" Kevin walked to the towel rack and grabbed a towel for Mia to dry her hands. She accepted it with a small smile and started to wipe her hands inside.

"Nope, but that's understandable. If someone told me my grandmother wasn't trustworthy, I'd be pretty pissed off too. It would be the same with your dad."

"I guess it is hard to hear," Kevin sighed. He wrapped his arms around Mia comfortingly, "Do you think I should talk to her? I am the one who started this whole thing. Maybe hearing it from me will…"

"To be fair, you're kind of middle of the road to her," Mia said. "If she won't listen to me, she definitely won't listen to you. Jayden and Antonio are probably out of the question. Right now, the only person who might be able to explain things to her is Mike."

"It's a good thing I managed to talk him around," Kevin smiled. At least he had accomplished one thing with this talk. Emily wasn't keen on keeping her distance from her sister, but Mike was more than ready to keep a watchful eye on Serena.

"You did?" Mia frowned. She thought it would take a lot more effort to convince Mike. Apparently not.

"Yeah. We were probably a little too convincing, though," Kevin rubbed the back of his neck as he stepped away from Mia, "He really feels like Serena's already betrayed us. I guess that's a normal reaction though. He does have a lot to lose if we are right."

"I hope we're not," Mia muttered. "I really hope we're wrong."

"Need I remind you of the alternative?" Kevin placed his hands on Mia's shoulders, "Hostage?"

"That can't be as bad as this, though," Mia sighed. "I mean, yeah, it's bad, but if Dekker wanted Serena dead, he would have done it by now. And once Jayden beats him in the duel, Serena will be free and we'll have an easy explanation for all the stuff she did."

"I guess," Kevin nodded. He pulled Mia into his arms and kissed the top of her head. Mia wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest as she sighed loudly. She knew being a Samurai was going to be tough, but she never imagined things would be this complicated and twisted. Defeat Master Xandred: that was what she had signed up for. All these friends, the relationships, the drama, the heartache… those were hidden in the fine print. The _very_ fine print.

-Samurai-

She was really starting to miss home. That much was clear. She had been away from a while now and had very little contact with her parents, her sister and the other Rangers. He should have known that eventually it would start taking its toll.

He just didn't think it would be this soon.

He spent a lot of time with her. When he wasn't training with her he would always be close to her. Either right by her side, questioning her on the things she was doing, or he would be on the other side of the room, keeping his eye on her and making sure she didn't take off and leave him. He doubted she would. She knew what the consequences would be, though he never had to state them verbally. He just liked watching her and studying her.

But in all that time he had spent with her, he had never really seen her missing home like she had earlier that day. The way she stared at the pictures longingly, like if she looked hard enough they would teleport her back to her farm or the Shiba House, or even take her back in time to when she was younger, before all this trouble started.

And she was sleeping with the ape her sister had given her. Well, at this point it had been shoved down to the bottom left corner of the bed, but she had it clutched to her chest when she had fallen asleep. Dekker had never seen the ape before today, and now it was always by her side.

He thought back to the training from earlier. She hadn't been a challenging partner, and she hadn't been a good student. She was snippy (more so than usual), she was distracted, and she had called him a few names that he would rather not repeat, even to himself.

He was starting to get the feeling that she didn't like being here. While it was her home, she had made it clear that she didn't feel at home. She was away from the people she loved, and she felt trapped. Not only was she confined to this place because of her Guardian duties, but he was keeping her here as well. He didn't want her to leave because he was scared she would never come back.

If he was going to keep her here, and if he wanted to cheer her up, he was going to have to do something to make home feel a little more like home.

He stood at the end of her bed as ideas swam through his head on what he could do. He remembered being in her home when he had cured her from her disease. It was an old farm home, far out in the country. The Tengen Gate was also far from even the smallest of towns, but it was still very different from the farm. Japanese culture and history overwhelmed even him.

He grabbed the ape, or Monkey the Ape as Serena had called it, and tucked it back under her arm before he turned and left the room. He didn't need as much sleep as she did, so sacrificing one night wasn't going to do any harm to his body.

He crossed one of the servants in the hallway and grabbed the man. He pinned him against the wall.

"I'm going to be gone for a little while," he told him. "In my absence, I'm counting on you to make sure the Guardian does not leave the grounds."

"I… I… I…"

"If she does, even for a moment, not even she will be able to protect you from me, is that understood?"

"I… I…"

Dekker rolled his eyes and released the man from his grip before heading off. It was no wonder this place needed her. The rest of the Guardians were cowards.

-Samurai-

Emily sat on her bed. Her legs were crossed, her hands were playing with the ear of her stuffed dog, and her gaze was fixed on her blankets. Mike stood a couple feet from her, watching and waiting for her.

But he wasn't a very patient man.

"So… what did Mia say?" he asked his girlfriend. Emily shrugged.

"Not much…"

"Em," Mike sighed. He took a seat next to her on the bed. "C'mon. Obviously she said something or you wouldn't have pulled me in here. You know you can trust me."

"I can trust Serena too," Emily stated as she nodded her head. "She told me I couldn't, but what does she know. You trust her, right?"

"I…" Mike lowered his head and shifted away from Emily. He wanted to trust her sister, but he knew Kevin was right when he said that trusting her could be dangerous. Emily was going to have a hard time understanding that they were only doing this to keep themselves, and her, safe.

Emily looked up at him when she heard his hesitation. She frowned.

"Mike…"

"Look, Em…"

"Mike!" she smacked him with her stuffed dog. Thankfully for Mike it was too soft to hurt, but he didn't want a repeat. Her hit had almost knocked him over, and even the plush bed was going to hurt his back if he were to fall backwards from another smack.

"Emily, just listen to me, okay…"

"She's my sister," Emily muttered. "No matter what, she'll always be my sister."

"And I get that… we all get that…"

"And I'm her sister! She wouldn't betray me."

"That's what we're hoping for, Em," Mike smiled. "We're hoping that, if anything, she'll stay loyal to you. But right now, we can't take any risks. I trust her, but I don't trust Dekker, and I don't trust her with Dekker. It's confusing."

"But…"

"Emily," he pulled the dog out of her hands and took them in his own. He looked her in the eye, "You know the saying blood is thicker than water, right?"

"Exactly…"

"Not exactly," Mike smirked. "Just listen, okay. The saying kind of doesn't tell it like it is… not right now."

"What do you mean?" Emily frowned.

"Well, Serena's your sister, right?" Mike started. "Like, every morning you wake up and she's your sister. No matter what happens, you can't change biology. I didn't finish High School, but that much I know."

"Your point?"

"You have absolutely no say in the matter," Mike shrugged. "She's your sister, whether you love or hate her, whether she's loyal to you or not, you can always call her your sister. It's a blessing and a curse."

"So?" Emily pulled her hands away from Mike's and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Every morning I wake up and I choose to be with you," Mike smiled. "I chose to love you and protect you. I'm not doing it because we're related by blood. I do it because I want to do it."

Mike gestured to Mia's bed with a smile, "Your other sister, you know, the one who just tried to convince you to be careful, she does the same thing. She's not your sister because you two are related… unless there's something you aren't telling us."

"No," Emily shook her head.

"Good," Mike smiled. "Mia's not looking out for you because of family. There's no need for her to protect you or care for you because she doesn't have to. You two don't even have to be friends. But every morning she wakes up and chooses to be your sister. While Mia, the guys and I all have an easy out, it says a lot that we're still here with you, don't you think?"

"I guess," Emily shrugged, "but Serena…"

"Serena still chooses to be your friend, but that's what's expected of her because you're related by blood. I'm not trying to discredit her or anything, but right now, don't you think it might be worth trusting us on this one?"

"But I want to trust her," Emily sighed.

"Just promise me something, then," Mike said as he pulled her into his arms, careful not to aggravate his back as he squeezed her lovingly, "Promise you'll be safe. Maybe, you're right about your sister. You do know her best, but if there's a chance you're wrong…"

"You don't want me to get hurt," Emily nodded. She let out a deep breath, "Okay… I'll be careful."

"That's my girl," Mike smiled as he leaned down and kissed her.


	143. A Little Surprise

When Serena woke up that morning she noticed there was something different about her room. The atmosphere felt a lot… emptier? She couldn't describe it, or understand it, until she pushed off the blankets, sat up in her bed, and noticed that Dekker wasn't sleeping on the floor at the foot of her bed.

She smiled to herself and wondered if he was actually gone. She wondered if something she had said, or something she had done, convinced him to leave the Tengen Gate and take care of himself.

Then, she turned and spotted Monkey the Ape by her pillow and the feeling of dread washed over her. She realised Dekker wouldn't just leave her. He had told her many times before that he was here to train until he thought he would be strong enough to duel Jayden and hold off all the other Rangers on his own. If he was actually gone from the Temple, that would be the only place he would go.

As she jumped out of bed, she realised just how smart it would have been for Dekker to leave during the night. He could basically teleport home and be at the Rangers' doorstep in seconds, whereas without him, Serena would have to get on an airplane and fly home. By the time she made it, her friends and sister would likely be dead.

She raced to the main room and stopped in her tracks suddenly when she noticed the room was different. Completely different. Everything that once filled the decorated the room was gone and replaced with, what looked like, furniture from her parents' home. Now completely confused, Serena inches her way through the room, her eyes fixed on the new furniture.

"What the hell?" she muttered to herself as she placed her hand on the back of an old rocking chair. It was unlikely that this was _the _chair from her parents' home, but it ressembled the one her father always sat on after working all day on the farm. He would sit for hours after work, watching TV until he fell asleep or her mother sent him off to bed.

Serena looked across the room and smiled. There was the TV. She scanned the room again. This was her home.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and she jumped, turning around as she did. She saw Dekker with a smile on his face.

"I hope you like it," he said.

Serena was both relieved and annoyed when she saw him. She pulled away from him and stood on the other side of the chair, keeping it between the two of them.

"You did this?" she asked and he nodded. She rolled her eyes; of course he had done it. No one else would have been able to pull this off, not in one night.

"It took a lot of convincing," he said, "but as you know, I've never had a hard time convincing people of anything."

Serena pointed to the sword, "Yeah, when Urumasa does the talking. So who did you kill? Please don't say it was my parents?"

"I did not kill anyone," Dekker assured her. "I went back to you home and found the store that sold these items. Unfortunately I did not have any coins on me."

"Money," Serena nodded. "So, you…"

"I merely did what needed to be done," Dekker shrugged his shoulders.

"So you killed the clerk?"

"You would not have been happy with me if I had," Dekker pointed out. "It would see rather foolish to do something that would make you unhappy when I'm trying to cheer you up."

"You…" Serena looked around the room again and it occurred to her. The day before, she had told Dekker that she missed home. She figured he had been awake all night trying to bring a little home to the Tengen Gate for her, to make her feel a little more comfortable.

Dekker smiled and held out his hand for her to take, "Come. I have been working on breakfast. This morning I had the servants help me make you your favourite. I thought you would like that."

"Yeah," Serena nodded her head and took his hand as she followed him into the kitchen.

-Samurai-

"So, you've only got my symbol and Jayden's left before you get the Box up and running?" Mike asked, standing next to Antonio as the Gold Ranger worked on programming Mike's symbol into the Black Box. The fisherman nodded and pointed his Samurai Morpher at the Box.

"Yep. But Jayden's is going to be the biggest challenge," he said. He pointed to Mike's stool, "If you're going to insist on watching me program your symbol, at least take a seat."

"I'm fine," Mike nodded. Antonio turned and glared for a moment.

"Emily's not here, you don't have to put on the brave face. Take a seat."

Mike grumbled as reluctantly took a seat, though it felt really good to get off his feet. Standing behind Antonio and leaning over his shoulder to watch had been starting to take its toll on his back. While he had been told that his recovery was going well, he still felt the occasional tug and pull when he moved, and pain could still be felt for most of the day. He was just really good at ignoring it.

"So, you're going to get my symbol to jump from my disk into the Box?" Mike asked as a wave of bright energy connected his Symbol Disk and the Black Box. Antonio nodded his head.

"Pretty much. I… what?" Antonio and Mike were both surprised when Mike's Zord unfolded itself and turned to the two of them. He stuck his little tongue out at his master and the gold Ranger before grabbing the Black Box and leaping off the table.

"Hey!" Mike called to his Zord as it scurried off, "get back here!"

"Why didn't I see that coming?" Antonio sighed loudly and shook his head. He saw Mike had gotten up and was chasing the bear Zord around the room, trying to retrieve it and the Box. He rolled his eyes, "So much for Mike's being easy."

The bear Zord leapt up onto a high shelf and tucked itself away, out of reach for both Mike and Antonio, and it had taken the Black Box with it. Mike glared up at the shelf.

"Alright, Winnie the Pooh, this isn't funny," he muttered as Antonio joined him. "Bring the Black Box down now!"

The Zord poked its head out over the edge of the shelf and stared down at the two boys for a moment before turning and letting his rear end hang over the edge. He waved it a couple of times before retreating back to his hiding spot.

Antonio couldn't help but chuckle, "And I thought Octozord liked to play around."

"Yeah, the Bear Zord's always been a bit of a joker according to my dad," Mike rubbed the back of his neck.

"Really?" Antonio laughed. "I never would have guessed."

"Yeah, I… hey!" Mike playfully shoved Antonio for the joke. The Gold Ranger smirked before looking back up at the shelf.

"So, should we get a chair or…"

"Have you ever been bit by a Zord before?" Mike asked, seemingly out of the blue. Antonio turned to his friend and shook his head.

"Uh, Squids aren't known for biting…"

"Well, Yogi's got no problem sinking his teeth into anything. Even if we could reach, he'll bit off our hands before he lets us get the Black Box."

"Well, at least it's safe from Master X," Antonio shrugged. "How long is he going to keep this up for?"

"Until he gets bored," Mike smirked. "Although… Baloo does have a lot of patience… unlike me."

"Well, that's how we'll tell you two apart then," Antonio laughed. "By the way, what do you call that thing?"

"The Bear Zord?"

"You've called him by three different names."

"He deserves to be confused," Mike glared up at the shelf and crossed his arms over his chest, "You know, Boo Boo, we're going to get you eventually."

"Yeah, challenge it to stay up there, way to go Mike," Antonio chuckled as he rolled his eyes. He tucked away his Samuraizer, "whatever, I guess this just means it's time for bed. Maybe tomorrow he'll decide to come down."

"Sorry about this, dude," Mike nodded. "I know you're trying hard to get the Box working."

"Don't worry about it," Antonio smiled. "I mean, it's not like we expect you have mastery over your… wait, yes we do."

Mike playfully shoved Antonio once more before the two boys went their separate ways for bed.


	144. Not Quite Convinced

Breakfast had been good, though silent. Serena didn't have much to say to Dekker. She didn't really want to talk to him at all. She did want to ask him about the surprise, though, but she couldn't bring herself to ask.

It had been sweet of him to try and make her feel more comfortable. Serena had always known there was a gentle side to him. He wasn't a complete monster. Of course, he was half Nighlok, but his other half was human. His other half was just like her, and she knew that somewhere, deep down, there had to be more to Dekker than just Urumasa and a duel.

Dekker cleared her plate for her once she was done and got started on the dishes. Serena felt like offering her help, but decided against it. He was part of the reason she had been feeling miserable in the first place. She knew her friends were in enough danger with Master Xandred and the Nighloks on the loose, but Dekker was a whole different story. He alone could defeat all the Rangers with a single slash of his sword. She didn't fear his wrath, but she feared what he would do to the others, and it was only a matter of time before he killed them.

She gulped loudly as she watched him wash the dishes and she wondered what was going on in his head. She thought maybe he was thinking about the duel. It always seemed to be on his mind. He could have also been thinking about Jayden specifically. She knew he occasionally wondered what Jayden was doing at any given time, and he always asked her if she thought he was keeping up with his training. Serena always said yes, only because she hoped Dekker would believe Jayden was always getting stronger and he would push the duel off to a further date.

But when Dekker glanced over his shoulder and smiled at her, Serena began to wonder if maybe he was thinking of her.

"What?" she asked, letting him know she had caught him staring. Dekker shrugged his shoulders.

"I was wondering if today you wanted to accompany me on a walk," Dekker said.

"I thought I wasn't allowed to leave the grounds."

"You will be with me," he told her. "I will be keeping an eye on you."

"Do you really think I'm going to take off?" she asked him. "That I'm going to leave you here alone with all these secrets? I would have to be pretty stupid."

"You know I have no interest in the Samurai secrets," Dekker reminded her.

"But Master Xandred does."

"Xandred and I are not aligned," Dekker pointed out. "I do not wish to help him."

"So, are you aligned with the Rangers, then?" Serena asked. "You've helped them."

"I had my reasons."

"You would have plenty of reasons to help Xandred if I were to leave," Serena shrugged. "Obviously there's a reason you're keeping me here, and it's got to be pretty important for you to be treating me like a very well cared for prisoner. If I were to take off and hide, wouldn't you want revenge?"

"You cannot hide."

"So why waste your time keeping your eye on me?" Serena smirked. "You're so full of contradictions, Dekker; it's starting to drive me crazy."

"You've been thinking of me, then," Dekker dried his hands with a dish towel once he finished washing the breakfast plates and he turned to Serena. "I was thinking of walking to the waterfall."

"What if I don't want to go?"

"Do you think I'll leave you alone here at the Gate?" Dekker questioned her with a smirk. "If you don't trust me, why should I trust you?"

"Because you don't have any friends for me to kill," Serena muttered, rolling her eyes. "And it's not like I can kill you."

"You will accompany me on the walk," Dekker ordered her. "We will leave now."

"Now?" Serena frowned and she glanced down at her outfit, "I'm in my pyjamas."

"Who do you expect to run into?" Dekker asked.

"No one, but…"

"I have seen you in your pyjamas before. Does it matter if I see them outside?"

"I, uh…"

"I am ready for my walk now and you will follow," Dekker held his hand out for her to take. Serena rolled her eyes and reluctantly took his hand.

-Samurai-

Mia looked around at the table. She had never seen it so full. Normally her friends didn't all eat together at the same time, but this morning seemed to be an exception.

"This is nice," she commented, breaking the silence. All eyes turned to her.

"Doesn't matter if it's fancy or not," Mike said. He stabbed his pancakes with his fork, "I'll eat it either way."

"I meant the fact that we're all eating together," Mia chuckled. She turned to Emily, "Especially given yesterday, I thought…"

"Mike and I talked," Emily smiled. "I still trust Serena but I'm going to be careful, I promise."

"I guess that's all we can ask," Kevin nodded his head. "I'm really sorry I had to bring that up, Em."

"It's fine," Emily jabbed her fork into her breakfast, "Better safe than sorry, right?"

Jayden leaned across the table and whispered to Kevin, "I don't think it's a good idea to talk about it."

"Probably not," Kevin nodded. He turned to Antonio, "So, the Black Box…"

This time, Mike leaned over, "Probably not a good idea to mention the Box, either," he chuckled. Kevin furrowed his brow as he glanced at Antonio for an explanation. Antonio pointed to the shelf in the other room, where the Bear Zord was sleeping comfortably with the Black Box in its grip.

"I don't know who is worse," Antonio said, "The bear or Mike."

"Why is it up there?" Emily asked her boyfriend. She knew the Bear could be a little mischievous, but it wasn't like it had ever disobeyed Mike when the fate of the world was at stake.

Mike shrugged his shoulders, "He doesn't want to be programmed, I guess, and I'm not going to risk getting bite marks all over my hands. My back's torn up enough as it is."

"Let me try, then," Emily offered. If the Bear wasn't going to listen to Mike, maybe she could talk it into coming down. She didn't have a connection with it like Mike did, but she was starting to think the Bear had a crush on her Ape and she hoped to play her cards right.

She pushed a chair into the common room while the rest of the Rangers followed to watch. It almost felt like a contest. If Emily couldn't get the Bear to come down, someone else would want to test their luck and hopefully the game would go until the Bear gave up and released the Black Box.

Emily stood up on the seat of the chair but was still a little short, so Antonio grabbed one of the history books from Mentor's bookshelves so she could use it as a stepping stool. She thanked him before boosting herself up and peeking her head over the edge of the shelf.

She noticed the Bear Zord staring back at her curiously. He didn't expect to see anyone coming up here.

"What are you doing?" she asked the little creature. It growled gently. Emily couldn't understand it, though, she so she turned and looked down at Mike. "What does rawr mean?"

"I can't understand it when you say it," Mike chuckled. "Just tell it to release the Black Box. Maybe we'll work on Jayden's symbol first."

"You hear that?" Emily turned back to the Bear, "You're going to lose your spot in line if you don't cooperate. Then again, you won't lose anything if you don't give up the Black Box…"

"Are you plotting with my Zord?" Mike frowned. "Don't give it ideas, just threaten it!"

"Do I look threatening to you?" Emily chuckled. "Just let me work."

She smiled back at the Bear and stood on the tip of her toes as she made a deal with the little Zord. On the ground, Mia was resting her forehead on Kevin's shoulder and she was shaking her head.

"She's going to fall," she muttered, causing Kevin to chuckle, "She's going to lose her balance and fall."

"Have a little faith," Kevin smirked as he rubbed her back, "She hasn't fallen yet."

Just then, a loud ringing filled the room, causing the Rangers to jump at the sudden noise and Emily to lose her balance. Mike grabbed her before she could hit the ground and bit his lip to keep from screaming in pain as his back tried to convince him to let her drop. He lifted her back to her feet, trying to hide the pain, while she reached into her pocket.

"I should take it off ring and vibrate," she muttered nervously before picking up the phone. "Hello?"

The other Rangers gathered around to listen, wondering who would call Emily. She didn't hand her number out to many people now that she was a Ranger, so they figured it would be an important call.

"I need your help," the voice on the other end said. Emily looked at her friends and gestured for them to take a seat on their stools. They did as they were told and Emily set her phone down on the table. She put it on speaker so everyone could hear and then pressed her finger to her lips, asking them to stay silent.

"Serena, why are you calling?"

The other Rangers now understood why she wanted them to be silent. Still, they were happy she was being careful with her sister. At least this way they would be certain Emily wasn't hiding anything from them.

"I just had the weirdest day," Serena said. "For starters, the Tengen Gate looks exactly like home."

"Home?" Emily frowned.

"Dad's rocking chair and all," Serena answered and Emily nodded her head but suddenly finding herself confused all over again.

"Wait, what? How did…?"

"Apparently Dekker's very persuasive. Don't worry, tough, he promised me he didn't kill anyone."

"And you trust him?" Emily looked up at her friends as she asked her sister this question.

"Dekker doesn't lie about killing people. I'm sure he would have been gloating if he had. Either way, I can't change what he's done."

"Okay, so the Tengen Gate looks like home," Emily nodded, hoping to move on while the others exchanged looks. She knew they were trying to figure Serena out based on what she said and how she spoke about Dekker. "What else was weird?"

"Dekker made me breakfast," Serena said. "Well, I mean, he's taken over the cooking so normally he makes breakfast… but today it was weird. He made me eggs and bacon."

"Your favourite," Emily commented.

"Then we went on a walk," Serena continued. "He took me to a waterfall and we spent most of the day by the lake. There was no training, no talk of duels… unless I brought it up. And he kept looking at me. Not like, watching me, looking at me, but like… I don't know how to explain it."

"Sounds like a date, dude," Mike blurted out before remembering Emily asked him to stay quiet. His hands flew over his mouth and his eyes widened, afraid that if Serena knew he was listening as well, she would close up and they wouldn't hear the end of the conversation.

"Mike?"

"Hope you don't mind," Emily answered her sister quickly. "I'm in the common room with Mike on speaker phone."

It came out naturally, because it wasn't a lie. She just 'conveniently forgot' to mention the other Rangers were in the room as well.

"Hi, Mike," Serena sighed on the other end. Mike chuckled and waved at the phone.

"So, should I call you Mrs. Dekker now, or does evil and creepy have a last name?"

"Mike!" Emily frowned, punching Mike in the chest. She did _not_ like the idea of Dekker and her sister. For one: it was Dekker, and secondly: it was Dekker. She didn't need any more reasons to hate even the thought of there being anything more than hatred between her sister and her most feared enemy.

"What?" Mike shrugged, eyeing the others hoping they would nod to show their support. "It sounds like someone's trying to impress someone else."

"Well, he can take his impressions and he can shove them up his ass," Serena growled.

Mike wouldn't stop there, though. He had to press the issue. He loved to tease people, especially when there was no way he could get hurt in return.

"Oh, come on," he mocked the eldest Earth sister, "beneath all those ratty clothes there's got to be some kind of appeal. The dude's only been working out for what, hundreds of years? He must be ripped at this point."

"Mike!" Emily shook her head and sighed. She should have seen this coming. Mike was the same way with Mia.

"And you two share a house together… well it's no wonder you two bicker all the time. You're practically married…"

"Mike, I think I hear Kevin calling," Emily frowned at her boyfriend. Mike shot her a confused look as he pointed to Kevin. The blue Ranger was sitting right across from him. If Kevin had called his name, he would have heard it. Emily simply gestured for Mike to leave the room. He rolled his eyes, smirked at his girlfriend and glanced down at the phone.

"I've got to go," he said. "You know what Kevin's like."

"Did you finally manage to pull the stick from his ass at least?" Serena asked. Mike couldn't help but grin when he saw Kevin glaring at the phone. Secret conversations were hilarious sometimes.

"Not yet. Goodbye Mrs. Creepy."

"Mike…" Emily muttered as he pretended to walk off. When he was 'out of the room' she glanced back down at the phone, "Serena, please tell me you're not Mrs. Creepy…"

"Are you kidding, Emy? It's just…"

"Oh no…"

"There's something about it… him… He's being so nice… all things considered. It's like there's a whole other side to him that I just… I can't figure it out. It's weird."

"So, you called to tell me Dekker's weird?" Emily frowned. "You don't have any real news?"

"I just needed to get this off my chest," Serena nodded. "You know, sister to sister. The servants here aren't good at girl talk."

"Given none of them are girls, I can understand."

"Anyways, I'm going to go. It's getting pretty late here. We're just about ready for bed."

"We?"

"Goodnight, Emy. I love you."

"Love you too," Emily sighed as Serena hung up the phone. Emily grabbed hers from the table and put it away. She turned to Mike, "Mrs. Creepy?"

"What? It sounded like a date," he shrugged innocently. "Why else would a man walk to a waterfall with a woman?"

Emily rolled her eyes and turned to her other friends. "So?" she asked them. She knew they had been judging her sister during the length of the phone call and she wanted to know what impression Serena had left on them.

"I don't know, Emily," Jayden shrugged, "Dekker's obviously up to some kind of trick. It's just hard to guess how involved Serena is."

"But she told us she had no idea what he was up to," Emily said. "Why would she lie?"

"Because if you don't trust her, none of us do. If there's anyone here she wants to stay onside with, it would be you."

"But lying to me…"

"If she is lying to you, you're not supposed to know it's a lie," Mia pointed out. "You're probably supposed to take everything at face value."

"But…"

"This is why we all need to be careful," Jayden sighed as he stood up. "We're so far away, we have no clue what's really going on. Until we have more information, we are not to trust Serena."

"But…"

"Dekker's keeping her close," Antonio pointed out, "There's got to be a reason for it. Besides, she's so far away what are we going to trust her with? It's not like this will change anything, Em."

Emily pouted. Jayden couldn't tell her how to feel, nor could the others. She had promised she would be careful, but when it came to Serena, her sister, she would trust her instincts.

Jayden gave Emily a pat on the shoulder, "I just don't want anyone to get hurt."

"I know," she sighed. Jayden gave her one final look before leading the others back into the kitchen to clear away the breakfast dishes. Emily glanced up at the shelf where the Bear Zord was still hiding with the Black Box. She saw the green Zord has his head sticking out and he seemed happy that the Rangers forgot he was there. Emily stuck her tongue out at him.

He stuck his tongue out at Emily before disappearing beyond the ledge. Emily waited for a moment to see if he would come back. Suddenly, the Black Box was hurled at her head.

"Hey!" she frowned, ducking in time to avoid getting hurt by the Box. She turned to where it landed and picked it up. She was about to set it on the table when she saw the Bear Zord had approached her. Remembering the deal she had made with the Bear, she pulled her Ape from her pocket. The yellow creature unfolded itself as soon as it was set on the table and started to play with the Bear.

She tucked the Black Box into her pocket and turned to her room, leaving the others to clean the kitchen on their own. They had just asked her not to trust her sister, surely they weren't going to ask her to do her chores as well.

* * *

_Author's Note: When posting the chapters I made a mistake and accidentally skipped over a chapter. If you want to read chronologically, I suggest you skip ahead to chapter 150. Once you've finished that chapter you can then proceed to chapter 145. Don't worry, there are no spoilers if you jump ahead. I somehow forgot to post that chapter and skipped ahead to the next one. I apologize for the confusion._


	145. Will You Trust Me?

Urumasa was inches from her face. Why she agreed to a lesson wit real swords, she couldn't remember. All she knew now was that it was a bad idea.

Dekker pulled Urumasa away from Serena's face with a smirk and he held his hand out to help her up. She took it and as he pulled her up she could hear him sighing in disappointment. She knew she had lost, but she thought she had done well.

"You realise I've been sick in bed for years," she told him. "Meanwhile you've been training for centuries. The fact that I can hold my own against you for even a minute should be impressive enough."

"It is," Dekker nodded his head. "You are getting better."

"You sound disappointed."

"You are getting better and better every day," Dekker said. "I am finding it harder and harder to best you. Soon, you will have me right where you want me. In fact, I have already lost a few spars against you."

"Those were probably flukes," was she really trying to boost his confidence? That was the last thing she thought she would ever be doing. If he thought he wasn't good enough, he wouldn't duel Jayden. He wanted a challenge, but he also wanted an epic battle. Something that would be remembered for years to come.

Serena wanted her friends alive and healthy. Helping keep his spirits up would not help her accomplish her goals.

"One fluke could be the difference between victory and defeat. I do not wish to win or lose because of a fluke. I am looking for skill."

"Okay… well… maybe we've been training together too long," Serena shrugged. She took a seat on the bench and invited Dekker to sit next to her. He glanced at her.

"You mean we need to switch partners?" he asked. Serena nodded her head.

"The Rangers do it," she said. "They have their regular partners that they spar with, but every once in a while they mix it up. It's good."

"I know this. But there is no one else worthy enough for me to train with. You and the red Ranger are the only two humans who can survive Urumasa."

"Well, think of it this way: you can learn through teaching."

"Like when I trained your sister," Dekker nodded. "I did not learn much from her, unfortunately."

Serena clenched her fists. She had still be sick at home when Dekker kidnapped and trained (for lack of a better word) her sister, but she heard the stories and she knew what he put her through.

"It's not like you gave her the chance to teach you anything," she said through clenched teeth. Dekker noticed she was suddenly tense. He got up and bowed slightly.

"I'm sorry."

Serena frowned, "What?"

"My actions against your sister were uncalled for. There was no need to rip her away from her friends and train her so aggressively. For that, I apologize to you."

Serena looked around. Maybe she was on some kind of prank TV show. Was Dekker really apologizing to her?

"Um…"

Dekker glanced at Serena, "I realise it might be hard for you to forgive me."

"I'm trying to figure out what's going on… why are you apologizing for that? It's not like you're going to change. You still plan on killing her, and all the others, to get to Jayden, right?"

"If they interfere, yes," Dekker nodded his head. "But before the duel, I have no business harming the Rangers. They are not my intended target."

Serena kept her eye on Dekker. This was getting a little too weird. Was he actually trying to change? At least, in his own weird way. Was her trying to change for her? He had apologized to her for hurting her sister. He was asking for her forgiveness.

"I wish to make it up to you," Dekker smiled at her. Serena looked shocked.

"You'll leave?"

"Unfortunately I still have more training to do if I am struggling against you. I will not leave. However, you have been away from home for quite some time. While I have redecorated the main room to your liking, there's nothing like being surrounded by family to truly make one feel at home."

"I'm still lost… are you… are you going to bring my family here?"

"The Rangers trust you," Dekker nodded. "I'm sure they would be happy to come visit you. However, not all of them may come. You can choose two."

"What?"

"Choose," this sounded like more of a demand than a request to Serena. She furrowed her brow.

"What are you trying to do, Dekker?" she asked. "There's no way I'm bringing two of the Rangers here. Not with you around."

"Have I not earned your trust?" Dekker asked. "I helped the Rangers with their copycat problem, and I released your sister quickly, just as you requested. I upheld my end of the deal when we tried to duel the Rangers and I have saved your life twice, now."

"I…"

"I do not wish to harm you, Serena," Dekker's voice sounded sincere. Serena knew he wasn't lying. But splitting up the Rangers didn't sound like a good idea. For one, Dekker always had a plan in the back of his mind, and they also had to consider Master Xandred and the Nighlok. If they split up the Rangers and there was an attack, they would be weakened. "I promise you and the Rangers complete safety during the visit. You may even accompany me as I head home to bring them back. I do not plan on harming them, so your watchful eyes will not disturb me."

He held out his hand and Serena stared at it. She knew when he did this he expected her to take it.

She wanted to see her friends and her sister. She was tempted to take his hand. He had earned enough of her trust in the last few weeks, but there was still an element of doubt. This was Dekker. Even Master Xandred didn't trust him.

"Take my hand," Dekker said. "I promise you no harm will come to you or your friends. At the end of the day, you will be happy."

It took a moment before she made her decision.

-Samurai-

"Are you sure Jayden told us it was okay to stay out for a while?" Mike asked Emily. Normally he wasn't afraid to take risks and go against Jayden or Mentor's orders, but considering he was the team rebel, if Emily was wrong, he would be the one who got in trouble. No one would ever expect Emily to disobey Mentor or Jayden. Even if Mike did rat her out, it was unlikely they believed him.

"Yes," Emily nodded and smiled. "Kevin and Mia are out anyways. We have our Samuraizers. We're not going to get in trouble. Besides, I'm a bad liar, right? If I didn't honestly believe we had permission, you would know."

"Good point," Mike chuckled. He wrapped his arms around Emily and took Scruffy's leash from her hand, "So, where are we headed? Dog park? People park? Do you think the restaurants would let us eat with Scruffy if we eat on the patio?"

"Scruffy would be bored anyways," Emily shook her head. "You wouldn't like him when he's bored."

"I thought he only tormented Mia when he got bored."

"That's because he's only bored in the morning, and there's no way he can open the bedroom door," Emily smirked. "Besides me, Mia's the only choice."

"You're going to have to buy her flowers or some big gift at the end of this Samurai thing," Mike laughed. "A thanks for putting up with you and your dog."

"You bought me the dog," Emily reminded him. "You owe her, not me. She likes me."

"You hear that, Scruffy?" Mike looked down at the dog, "Mia doesn't like you."

Scruffy was chewing on the leash, as if trying to break free. They were getting closer to the park and he was obviously excited to go run around with his ball. He had seen Emily take it and the only thing he loved more than playing fetch was playing fetch at the park.

Mike knew what Scruffy wanted and he smiled to himself. He grabbed the ball from Emily's hand and quickly looked around. The path to the park was clear. There were very few people and no streets, meaning Scruffy wasn't in any danger if Mike let him off the leash now.

A smirk appeared on the green Ranger's face when he recognised two people in the distance. Apparently their movie was done and they had the same idea as Mike and Emily. A walk in the park was always an interesting date.

Mike unclipped the leash from Scruffy's collar and tossed the ball, aiming for it to land right in front of Kevin and Mia. "Go get it, boy!" he encouraged the dog as Scruffy raced after the flying ball.

"Mike, don't lose him," Emily frowned. Mike smirked and kissed her cheek before taking off behind the dog. Emily rolled her eyes. Apparently Mike needed to be walked daily too. She chased him, "Mike! Come back!"

She followed him as he followed her dog, but something caught her eye before she could make it to the park entrance. She turned and saw a faint glow coming from behind the public bathrooms. Clutching her Samuraizer, she strayed off the path to check it out.

She gasped, but it was quickly muffled when she felt someone grab her and pull her between the washroom walls and the big stone fence that circled the park. Finally, she heard a familiar voice.

"You didn't have to snatch her like that," it sounded like her sister, but that wasn't possible. Serena was in Japan. That was far away. There was no way she would be back here.

To her surprise, Serena appeared in her view and pulled away the hand that was wrapped around her shoulders, holding her against whoever had snatched her. When Emily looked up to see who it was she was shocked to find Dekker.

"You said you wouldn't hurt them," Serena was speaking to Dekker. She punched the man in the shoulder, "That qualifies as hurting them."

"I needed to get her attention. I figured she would be one of the two people you wanted to come visit you."

"Yeah but… just let me do this okay?" Serena asked the older man. He shrugged his shoulders and nodded before turning to Emily. "Sorry."

Emily's heart was racing, her palms were sweating, she felt sick to her stomach and she couldn't breathe. Dekker was standing right in front of her and he had just grabbed her. Had it not been for Serena, he would have had her – again.

Serena stood beside her sister and placed her hand gently on Emily's arm, "Sorry about him. He takes _a lot_ of getting used to."

"Why are you here?" Emily asked her sister. "You should be in Japan…"

"I know… it's a long story," Serena nodded and flashed her sister a smile, "but… I missed you."

"Yeah," Emily answered. "I missed you too, but…"

"We were wondering if you and one of the other Rangers wanted to visit," Dekker offered. "Your sister misses home and…"

"You want me to come with you?" Emily asked. She glared at Dekker. She wanted to trust her sister, and she did, but she would never trust Dekker.

Serena nodded her head, "Only for a few hours. I know we talk on the phone occasionally but… Dekker offered to bring some of you over and I have missed you…"

"But… it's Dekker," Emily shook her head.

"I know it's hard, Emy, but…" Serena glanced at Dekker for a moment and smiled at him, making Emily feel like she was going to throw up. Serena looked back at her, "I trust him. He promised not to hurt me, you, or the others. He's kept his word before."

"So?" Emily frowned.

She heard her friends calling her name in the distance. It wouldn't be long before they found her, and she wanted them to find her. She didn't feel safe at all.

"Emily," Serena smiled kindly and took her sister's hand. "I wouldn't be here if it put you or the others in danger. Dekker's waiting until the duel before he makes his next move. Until then, he's harmless. You trust me, right?"

Serena was being honest. She trusted Dekker, but she would never let him harm her friends or her sister. She was loyal to them, and only them. But until Dekker made a move, there was no point treating him like an enemy. He was being kind to her. Maybe, if she returned the favour and showed him kindness, he would forget all about murder and blood. She had already seen a softer side to him. She knew there was more to Dekker than what the Rangers saw.

"Emily!"

Kevin, Mia and Mike had finally found her and stopped a few feet from where she was standing with her sister. They pulled out their Samuraizers and glared at Dekker and Serena.

"What are you doing here?" Kevin growled to Dekker, trying not to give away his distrust to Serena. He didn't want to rock the boat by showing Dekker that he knew there was something between the warrior and Serena.

"We come in peace…"

"Way to sound like an alien," Serena rolled her eyes and sighed loudly at Dekker's comment. He turned to her and frowned before looking back at the Rangers.

"I do not wish to harm you."

"Look, Dekker, we're already here," Serena shrugged her shoulders. "Why don't we just go for a quick walk in the park with everyone? They don't need to come home."

"What?" Mia asked. Serena wasn't making any sense. She and Dekker had come all this way from Japan for a walk in the park. That didn't seem likely. Weren't there parks in Japan?

"Serena misses her family," Dekker explained to the Rangers. "As a way of apologizing for all the unnecessary pain and grief I have caused you Rangers, I wanted to treat her to a couple of hours with her friends to cheer her up."

"Right, because we'll believe that," Mike scoffed. He looked at Emily. He didn't believe Serena, but Emily had been open to him about her feelings for her sister. She trusted Serena. "Em…"

"It'll only be a few hours," Serena promised. "Just a walk around the park. We'll catch up and…"

"No," Emily shook her hand and pulled away from her sister. Serena looked at Emily, completely shocked.

"What?"

"I don't trust you. Not while you're with him," Emily pointed to Dekker and stepped further away from her sister. She had no idea what Dekker really wanted, but it couldn't have been good. "He wants to kill us, and if you trust him, I can't trust you."

Serena took a cautious step forward, trying to get closer to her sister, but Emily stepped back again and shot her sister a terrified look. Emily remembered how Dekker had saved her sister, but she never figured out why he would do such a thing. What did he want from Serena? Either way, she had already returned the favour. She had saved his life once. They were even.

Serena sighed when she saw her sister wasn't going to listen to her, but turning back to Dekker she realised why. She had learned to trust him, but the Rangers obviously hadn't.

"Have you decided which other Ranger will come with you?" Dekker asked. Serena shook her head.

"Just take me home," she muttered. "I knew this wasn't going to happen."

"But…"

"Dekker, I want to go home. You said you wanted to make things right. Just take me home and let me go to bed. The Rangers will stay here."

"As you wish," Dekker sighed. He held out his hand for Serena. The moment she touched him they disappeared into a Gap.

Emily raced over to her friends and Mike caught her in his arms, relieved she hadn't decided to go with her sister. He couldn't trust Dekker as far as he could throw him, and right now, with his back still recovering, that wasn't very far.

"Good to see you're being careful," Mike smiled. Emily nodded her head.

"It's different… seeing Serena with Dekker. It's like their friends," she said. "I can't trust Dekker… whatever he's done to my sister…"

"We'll keep her safe too," Kevin promised as he pulled Emily in for a hug. "As soon as we figure something out, we'll get her away from Dekker: whether she wants it or not. I don't want them teaming up against us."

"Does this mean you trust us?" Mia asked her little sister with a smile. "You told me you trusted your sister more than you trusted us…. Is that…"

"You're my sister too," Emily jumped into Mia's arms. "As long as you don't get cozy with Dekker, I'll trust you."

"And we will help Serena," Mike assured his girlfriend. "No matter what, she's still your sister and she's still one of us. Like Kevin said, once we have a plan, we'll split the two of them up. Hopefully Serena will be relieved."

Emily nodded her head happily, "Good. Can we go home now?"

"You want to go home?" Kevin frowned, a little surprised. They had permission to stay out as long as they wanted. Why would Emily want to go home?

The yellow Ranger stuffed her hands in her pockets and her fingers gently grazed the Black Box. She needed to return it, now that she was on board with her friends. She knew they hadn't turned on Serena, but there was definitely something weird going on between her sister and Dekker, and until they knew what it was, it wouldn't be smart to trust anything either of them said or did. Emily knew that now, and wanted to make it all official.

"I just want to go," she answered Kevin. "Unless you two aren't done your date…"

"Maybe we should head home before something else bad happens," Mia chuckled as she turned to her boyfriend. "We don't exactly have a great date record. Someone usually gets hurt."

"Maybe you shouldn't push your luck, then," Mike nodded. "Dekker's already shown up. I don't want to see it get any worse."

"You two can watch a movie or something in our room," Emily offered Kevin. "I'll find somewhere to hide until bedtime. Just don't do anything on my bed, okay?"

"Deal," Kevin chuckled.


	146. A Rift

Tempers flared when Serena and Dekker returned to Japan, or, rather, Serena's temper flared.

She hadn't expected her friends to come to Japan to visit her, but Dekker had insisted they bring two of them to the Tengen Gate for a visit. While she knew none of the Rangers were likely to accept her offer, she had been a little hopeful that she would get to spend time with her friends, even just a few moments.

But instead, the little time she had spent with the Rangers hadn't been what she needed. She had spent that time in what seemed to be a game of tug-o-war, with her sister acting as the rope. She knew Dekker wasn't an easy man to trust –hell, he wasn't even all man – but she thought her sister would still trust her. She thought she had patched up their relationship after fighting with Dekker. As far as she had been concerned, there were no trust issues between her and Emily when she left.

Yet, today, Emily had made it clear that she didn't trust Serena. In fact, Emily seemed almost fearful of her sister. Serena didn't want that. There was nothing in the world that could convince her to betray her friends and family, but for some reason, Emily believed that Serena wasn't completely loyal.

And she had Dekker to blame.

When they arrived back home, Serena wasted no time and shoved Dekker into the dirt.

"Are you happy now?" she screamed. "Your little plan worked! They hate me."

"That was not…"

"Shut up!" Serena shouted. "Ever since you've come here I wanted you gone! I haven't been nice to you, I've made it clear that I hated you, and what do you do? You confuse the shit out of me with all this niceness crap! Well, I've finally figured out why. You're ripping me away from my friends!"

"I am not…"

"My sister doesn't trust me! How long will it take you to break the Rangers up?" Serena screamed. She pointed to the Temple, demanding that Dekker head inside. She wasn't going to give him a chance to break up the Rangers. She wasn't going to let him out of her sight. This was her home and she wanted to take control again. "Just get inside! I'll deal with you tomorrow, bright and early, in training."

Dekker got to his feet and lowered his head as he made his way inside. He hadn't intended to cause a rift between Serena and the Rangers, but apparently his presence alone was enough to cause trouble. He never wanted to hurt Serena, and he felt bad for how things had turned out.

Before heading inside he turned to Serena and bowed, "I apolo…"

"Shut up!" Serena shouted, grabbing the attention of some of the Tengen servants. They turned to her, surprised by her outburst.

Dekker hurried inside, his tail between his legs as guilt, an emotion he hadn't felt in centuries, overwhelmed him.

Serena couldn't go inside after him, not right away. She knew if she saw him now she would rip his head off, and while it would keep him from hurting her friends, it would probably distance her even more from her sister once the truth came out. Deep down, she knew he only wanted to help, but because of her sickness, she had learned the importance of family. It was something she cherished, and to watch it walk away from her, like Emily did at the park, destroyed her.

One of her servants approached her.

"Will you kick him out now?" he asked hopefully. She shook her head.

"Unfortunately, I don't trust a damn bone in his body," she growled. She turned to the man, "but don't worry. He's not in charge anymore. I'll make sure he knows his place."

-Samurai-

Emily knew where to find Antonio and Jayden. The red Ranger had told her he would be teaching Antonio for the day, so they would be spending their time in their bedroom.

With the other Rangers behind her she walked up to the gold and red Rangers' room and knocked on their door. Everyone waited patiently for someone to answer. Mike, Mia and Kevin were eager to find out why Emily was so determined to see Jayden and Antonio.

The door opened and Emily smiled. From her pockets she pulled out the Black Box and held it out for Antonio to take.

"The Bear Zord gave it back to me," she told him.

Mia, Mike and Kevin frowned. They hadn't seen Mike's Zord between the park and now, and they had kept their eyes on Emily the entire way home. She hadn't taken the Black Box from her room, or anywhere else, which meant she must have had it on her at the park.

From inside the bedroom, Jayden smiled at Emily, "Well, I'm glad we're all on the same page. What finally got you to understand?"

"Imagine Mentor Ji and Dekker together," Emily answered him. Jayden nodded for a moment before catching the look Emily shot him as she repeated: "_Together._"

"Ew…"

"Well… that's what it looked like, at least…"

"Okay… what's going on here?" Mike asked. He gestured to the space between Jayden and Emily, "What is this? What are you talking about?"

"The Black Box was in Emily's possession," Jayden explained. "I trust Emily, and I assume you all feel the same way, but she couldn't trust us. It was a lot to ask for her to break away from her sister. I couldn't ask her to give me the Box back."

"But why didn't you just give it back?" Kevin asked Emily. "Antonio could have used it."

"Emily and I worked out a deal," Jayden smiled. "When she trusted us completely, she would give us the box back. I knew she wouldn't put it at risk, and I knew she would protect it. If she couldn't trust us in general over her sister, why would she trust us with the Black Box?"

"And I'm giving it back," Emily gestured for Antonio to take the Black Box from her hand. He did and smiled. He wasn't going to need it while he was learning about Jayden's symbol, but it was nice to know he had it back and he could work on it whenever he was ready.

"Thanks, Em," he nodded and smiled.

"Well, I'm still confused as ever, but how about we leave these guys to learn?" Mike suggested. "Mia and Kevin were promised a part two, and I'm sure I can keep Emily entertained long enough for them to have their alone time."

"Just let me get some things from my room," Emily said to Mia and Kevin. She had promised they could use hers and Mia's room for privacy while they finished their date, but she wanted to make sure she took out everything she would need for the rest of the day so she wouldn't disturb them. They nodded and she took off for her room.

She grabbed her flute and a few of Scruffy's toys so he wouldn't bother them either. As she reached to her night table to grab her flute, though, she noticed her picture of herself and her sister. She let out a long sigh and gripped her flute tightly, remembering the day the picture was taken.

"_I'm going to fall," young Emily shook her head and held onto the tree branch as if her life depended on it. In this case, though, it did. She had managed to climb up the tree without much trouble, but getting down was proving to be difficult. The jump from the lowest branch was too high, and Emily feared she was going to get hurt if she jumped._

_On the ground, Serena was looking up at her sister. Her arms were stretched up, ready to catch Emily._

"_C'mon, Emy, you'll be fine, I promise. I won't let you fall."_

"_You let the ladder fall," Emily pointed to the broken ladder on the ground, her hand shaking as she did. Serena glanced down at the ladder and shrugged._

"_It was flimsy anyways. Just be glad you're up in the tree and I'm here to catch you and it's not the other way around."_

"_Why?"_

"_Do you think you could catch me?"_

_Emily shook her head, "Serena, I'm scared."_

_By now there were tears flowing down her cheeks. She wanted someone to climb up and carry her down, but that wasn't going to happen. The lowest branch was too high for even her father to reach._

"_Bad day to pick apples," Serena muttered to herself. She looked back up at her sister, "Emy, have I ever let you fall before?"_

"_No…"_

"_Have I ever lied to you?"_

"_No…"_

"_Do you trust me?"_

"_Yeah…"_

"_So jump. I'll catch you."_

"_Promise?"_

_Serena nodded her head, "I promise."_

"_Pinky promise?"_

_Serena chuckled. She held out her pinky, "Pinky promise."_

_Emily let go of the branch and sat up. She looked down at her sister nervously before closing her eyes and pushing herself off. She screamed as she fell through the air, but felt two soft arms grab her before she hit the ground. She opened her eyes and saw her sister smiling at her._

"_I told you I would catch you."_

_Emily smiled and wrapped her arms around her sister's neck as their mother walked over with a camera. She had been taking pictures of the family and the farm all day to send to Serena and Emily's grandparents. The only things missing for the scrapbook were pictures of the granddaughters._

"_Girls, smile!" she encouraged the sisters, unaware of the misadventure in the tree only moments before. Serena kissed the side of Emily's face, causing Emily to laugh playfully as her mother took the picture. "Aw, that's cute," their mother commented once she snapped the picture._

_As their mother walked away to take a few more pictures of the farm, Emily looked up at Serena._

"_No more apple picking."_

"_Why not?" Serena asked. She pointed to another tree, "There's a bunch there that look good."_

"_But what if I get stuck again?"_

"_I'll help you down," Serena shrugged. She lowered Emily to the ground and let her sister stand for herself. "C'mon, scaredy-cat. We'll need more apples if you want that pie tonight."_

"_Pie!" Emily giggled. She grabbed her sister's hand, "I want pie! C'mon Serena, we need apples for pie!"_


	147. Mia Opens Up

Mia wasn't paying too much attention to the movie as she laid in her bed with Kevin, enjoying the alone time they were having. She had seen this movie many times before and knew the storyline like the back of her hand. Instead, she was more focused on her boyfriend.

She knew quite a bit about him. He spoke of his dream of swimming in the Olympics, of his father and how it was for him growing up knowing he would be a Samurai. She knew he was an A student in school and always completed his work on time, or early. Obviously he had been on the swim team (and had won several medals for his school), but he had played in many other sports as well, usually only if he could work them around his rigid Samurai schedule though. But swimming had always been the only exception. He would always make time for swimming.

But as much as she knew about him, he knew only a few basic details about her. He wasn't to blame for that, though. She didn't talk much about her home life; what things were like for her before coming to the Shiba House. She had never been one to seek attention and therefore never felt the need to make her past public, even with her boyfriend.

And she used Emily as an excuse. She had never been too fond of the way she grew up, and though she had a hard time, but when Emily came out and told the team that her sister had been terminally ill for eight years, and would possibly die before the Samurai duties were over, Mia felt guilty for thinking her childhood had been rough. Her family, while a little awkward and uncomfortable at times, were all still alive and healthy. She still saw them frequently enough and didn't have to worry about them passing away in the night as she slept, or leaving for the hospital while she was still in school.

Tonight, she wanted to open up to Kevin a little more. Over lunch, and again at dinner, he had asked her a few questions about her grandmother and the rest of the family, and she had changed the subject quickly. But they had been dating for a few months now, and as far as she was concerned, they were in a very serious relationship. He deserved to know more about her than the rest of the house.

"I hated my mom for leaving," Mia muttered suddenly and Kevin quickly paused the movie so he could listen. He turned to her and looked down.

"What?"

"I was about five years old when our parents fought Master Xandred," Mia said. "My Samurai training had barely just begun back then, and my mom suddenly passed me over to my grandmother when she had to leave. She didn't really tell me why. All I knew then was that both my parents took off."

Kevin shifted slightly on the bed so he could face her. He shrugged his shoulders.

"It wasn't an easy thing for any of us to do," he said. "I remember when my dad left. Mom promised he would do anything to come back. I knew he was going to save the world and that other people needed my dad more than I did… but he didn't tell me the whole story until I came back."

"I didn't adapt very quickly to it, though. When my mom left, my dad moved with her so he could be close to her. He wanted to be near her in case something happened. They both agreed it was for the best and they left me in another town with my grandmother… well… my grandparents."

"You never talk about your grandfather," Kevin furrowed his brow. This was the first time Mia had ever mentioned having a grandfather. Of course, it went without saying to anyone who understood the facts of life, but given how she never spoke of him, Kevin simply assumed she had never met him. He had never met his father's parents. It happened sometimes.

"When I was five I didn't understand why my mom had to leave," Mia shrugged her shoulders. "She never really explained it to me either. I mean, how do you tell your five year old daughter you're leaving and you might never come back? Parents usually tell their kids the opposite."

"Yeah, I guess," Kevin nodded. "It must have been really hard with both of your parents deciding to leave."

"My dad only did what he thought was best," Mia answered. "He knew I was safe with my grandmother, but he was scared he would never see my mother again. He wanted to stay with her. I don't blame him, now, but when you're five…"

"It's not something I would expect any kid to understand," Kevin nodded.

"It all got worse when my grandfather passed away suddenly," Mia said. "He and I were setting up a tire swing in the backyard and he was telling me about his childhood. He wasn't a Samurai so it was finally a normal story about growing up. I was really interested. Grandma was out front working on the garden. She was picking vegetables for a salad for lunch. Her garden was probably the smallest little thing I've ever seen, but she was proud of it. She always said the green Samurai Ranger would laugh at her garden, though."

"What happened?" Kevin asked his girlfriend. She had spoken of things getting worse, but this memory sounded like a good one. Mia shrugged her shoulders.

"To be honest, I still don't know. Grandpa collapsed just before the tire swing was finished and he never woke up. I tried for quite a while, but never got a response from him. When I started crying, grandma must have heard me and she came over. We buried him a few days later."

"Mia…" Kevin leaned over and pulled Mia into his arms comfortingly.

"It's fine," Mia assured him. "Grandma said he must have died happy… I guess there are worse ways to go. I'm sad that he's gone, but at least it was painless, you know. There was no waiting or suffering."

"If that's how you look at it, then yeah," Kevin nodded. "One of the best ways to go, I guess. Spending time with your granddaughter."

"When it happened, though, I was upset and scared. I remember thinking: _'mommy's going to come home any minute now and she's going to make everything better'_."

"Did she?" Kevin asked. "I mean, that was her father, right… surely…"

"The day of his funeral my grandmother and I got a card. She was happy about it. She tried to tell me it was the best my mother could do. There was no sense in her coming home because my grandfather was already gone. They had a few words for him at the Shiba House, but that was it. I didn't like it though. I wanted my mom, not some stupid folded paper. I grabbed the card from my grandmother and ripped it up. I was mad at my mom and dad for leaving me, still, and now I was even madder at them for not coming home. I was mad at them for so long, than when they finally did come back, I didn't know how to not be angry at them. I told them I would rather live with grandma and nothing they could do would change my mind. After a year of tug and pull, I got my way. A year after that, my parents divorced."

"That's… wow, Mia, that sucks," Kevin couldn't think of anything else to say. Mia's story was tugging on his heart and he felt a few tears welling up in his eyes as she told it.

"I didn't ask why they broke up. I knew it probably had something to do with me."

"Mia, what your parents decided to do… that's up to them. You can't blame yourself. If they couldn't work things out, that's their problem."

"Yeah, my grandmother said the same thing," Mia nodded. "It worked out in the end, though. They're friends to this day, really good friends. I still grew up with them in my life, too. I saw them on holidays, during summer vacation, and they would come up and visit me on weekends and stuff too. Even when things were rocky, I remember they would try to be civil around me. I guess all the pretending just… made it real in the end."

"Wait… what do you mean?"

"I remember hearing them fight for a little while after the divorce. They stayed with me and grandma for a couple of days a few months after splitting up. They waited for me to go to bed before the screaming started. They didn't know I was at the top of the stairs watching. I was about eight then…"

"Only eight?" Kevin asked. Mia sighed and nodded her head.

"I was five when my parents left, a year later they came back, a year later I moved in with grandma permanently and a year after that they divorced. Eight, almost nine, yeah."

"I guess you must have heard some pretty nasty things," Kevin said. "One of my friend's parents got divorced when he was young and I remember most of the stories he told."

"My dad wasn't happy with my mom. He hated the Samurai for tearing us apart. He said some pretty hurtful things to her. He made her cry. I didn't want to have to deal with that. At that point, I knew I was going to be a Samurai, like my mom, and I didn't want it to hurt me like it did her. I wanted to have a family… a normal family. I started to wonder why kind of guy would put up with me and the Samurai thing. I figured, he would have to be pretty damn perfect… you know, like Prince Charming in the Disney movies. He's always saving the Princess, and doing what he can to make her happy and they're always so in love… Those movies always have a happy ending. That's what I want."

Kevin smiled. He pulled her in his arms and kissed her.

"And you deserve nothing less," he told her. "You'll get your happy ending. Once we push Dekker and Master Xandred out of the way, of course."

"I probably don't need to ask… but would you mind not sharing this with the others?" Mia said. "It's not something I want everyone to know."

"They wouldn't treat you any differently than they do now," Kevin nodded, "but if that's what you want, I won't tell a soul."

"Thanks," Mia snuggled into him. Kevin smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head before reaching for the DVD player.

"Shall we continue, now?" he asked. "It was just getting to the good part."

Mia glanced up at him, "You hate romantic comedies."

"Yes, but this is the part where the two lovers get into a fight. It's the part that sucks the least, and it's as much action/adventure as I'm going to get."

Mia rolled her eyes and laughed, "Whatever makes you happy."


	148. Kevin's Prized Possession

That night, Kevin couldn't sleep. He was back in his room and in his own bed after his part-two date with Mia had ended. Emily needed to go to bed at some point, and unfortunately, she hadn't waited long enough for Kevin to be tired.

Mike was snoring loudly again that night, but it didn't bother Kevin. He wasn't trying to sleep anyways. There were so many thoughts racing through his mind, most of which were about Mia. He had learned a lot about her earlier on. She had basically told him about her entire childhood and made herself completely vulnerable in front of him. She had never done that before. Not with him, and not with any of the other Rangers. Emily shared a room with the pink Ranger, and she didn't even know what Kevin knew.

He thought about what Mia had said. Her father hated the Samurai for tearing the family apart. Mia had been so broken-hearted and upset as a child when her parents took off that she distanced herself to the point where she didn't want to live with her parents anymore, and held onto that desire until she came to the Shiba house. Her decision to leave her parents caused them so much stress and grief, they took it out on each other and couldn't work things out until they divorced, leaving poor, young Mia to cop to the blame.

She didn't want what happened to her parents and her family to happen to her. Kevin understood that. He would hate it if anything got between him and his father and mother. His father was strict, and sometimes Kevin wished his dad would just lay off and let him be a normal person, but he would never walk away from his father, nor would he ever leave his children (if he ever had children, of course).

He finally understood why Mia was searching for a Prince Charming. She had always wanted a family, but after seeing what happened to her mother, who had led a life similar to what Mia was living now, Mia was scared she would end up as part of another broken family. She wanted someone in her life who would never let that happen. Someone who would understand what she had gone through as a Samurai and who would stand by her side through all the challenges she faced afterwards, whether they sealed Master Xandred away or not.

He sat up in his bed and looked over at Mike as the green Ranger's mouth opened wide for another loud snore. Kevin quickly grabbed his Samuraizer from his night table and drew a symbol.

Water appeared from the air just over Mike's head and dropped on top of his sleeping form, soaking the bed, Mike, and filling up his mouth. The green Ranger jumped up in bed and coughed the water out of his lungs.

"Dude!" he finally snapped when he could breathe again. He glared at Kevin, "What did I do now?"

"I need to talk to you," Kevin answered.

Mike blinked for a moment and then turned to the clock. He blinked again and looked at Kevin.

"Mia thinks she has it bad," he muttered. "I'd take Emily crawling into my bed over drowning any day. And not because she's my girlfriend…"

"What do you know about relationships?" Kevin interrupted. Mike looked at the blue Ranger.

"Come again?"

"Something happened earlier tonight," Kevin said, trying to remain as subtle as possible. Mia didn't want the other Rangers knowing about her past just yet, and he intended to keep her secret. "I think it's time we make our relationship really… official… but…"

"Okay, before there's any confusion… what happened?" Mike asked with a smirk. Kevin threw his pillow at Mike.

"Nothing like that," he said. "Mia and I just talked about some stuff and it got me thinking… I want to show her I'm completely serious, you know. I'm willing to be all that she wants me to be."

"Wear some funny tights, find a crown and ride around on a white horse," Mike teased. "Dude, in case you haven't been listening, Mia lives in a fairy tale. She's waiting for Prince Charming to come rescue her. You've already done the rescuing thing when she was bit by that Nighlok, but you're not exactly charming…"

"Mike…"

"I'm kidding… kind of," Mike smirked. "So, what exactly are you looking to do, dude? Are we going ring shopping? You might want to take Em…"

"No rings. Not yet. I want to wait still," Kevin quickly interrupted before Mike got the wrong idea again. "With Dekker and Master Xandred… it's not the right time."

"So, then… what?"

"I don't know," Kevin shrugged. He glanced nervously at Mike, "I thought, maybe… you could help."

Mike was floored. He never thought he would see the day. Big brother Kevin was asking him for relationship advice. The man who thought Mike wasn't a suitable boyfriend for Emily because he was convinced Mike would screw up, was asking him for help.

He pointed to himself, "Me? Of all the other people…"

"Jayden and Antonio aren't exactly reeling in the girls," Kevin pointed out, "And have you ever seen Mentor Ji with anyone of the opposite sex? The entire time we've been here, the only time I've ever seen him with a girl is when he's with Mia and Emily, and even then, he doesn't look like he knows what he's doing."

"Okay, good point," Mike nodded. "So, you want my advice?"

"Yes. How would you tell Emily you're ready for… more?"

"Like, not _more_ more or marriage more but just more, right?" Mike asked, trying to clarify what Kevin wanted, even though he was still confused by the older Ranger. Kevin nodded his head.

"Exactly."

"Uh… I don't know. Were still kind of starting out, dude. I mean, I love her… but we're taking it slow."

"You better," Kevin warned the green Ranger. "But just… think about it for a minute."

Mike pressed his fingers against his temples, "Thinking… thinking…"

"Mike!"

"What?" Mike looked to Kevin. "Dude, I'm exhausted. You woke me up, remember."

"Off the top of your head, what would you do?"

"I don't know," Mike shrugged. "I mean, she already knows I'll do anything for her. What else could I…?"

He suddenly snapped his fingers as a thought occurred to him. Mike hopped out of bed and raced over to Kevin's side of the room. He opened the blue Ranger's night table drawer and started searching through Kevin's things.

"Hey!" Kevin called, trying to pull Mike away from his drawer. "Mike! That's my…"

Mike stepped back and held up a medal. When they first arrived at the Shiba house he had seen Kevin unpacking it and he had asked about it. Kevin told Mike it was his prized possession, and it wasn't to be touched or moved or spoken of. Mike had respected his wishes until now.

"Give her this."

Kevin snatched the medal from Mike's hand, "Are you crazy? Do you know how much that's worth?"

"More than my head, probably," the green Ranger laughed.

"Mike…"

"But it means the world to you," Mike smirked. "That was your first national swim meet, huh? You came first by a landslide and realised you had a good chance at qualifying for the next Olympics."

"I never should have told you…"

"Give it to her," Mike said. "Tell her how much it means to you and let her keep it."

"Are you crazy?"

"No," Mike was completely serious now. "If Mia means as much to you as I think she does, than that stupid medal is worthless compared to her."

"What are you saying…?"

Mike took a seat on the end of Kevin's bed. He looked the older Ranger in the eye.

"You asked me for advice," he said. "If I wanted to show Emily that I was ready for more, I would show her that she means everything to me. If you're not ready to marry Mia yet because of Master X, there's something else you can do."

"Give her my medal? What will that…?"

"Tell her what it means to you. It's obviously special if you're not willing to let it go. If you give it to her, it's like… I don't know, romantic or something."

"But how will that tell her what I want it to tell her. How will she…?"

"She'll know," Mike smirked. He tapped Kevin's leg before getting up and going back to his very wet bed.

Kevin looked down at the medal in his hands. Maybe Mike had a point. When Mia had told him about her childhood she had opened herself up to him and made his feel special. She made him feel like she trusted him completely with her most personal thoughts and feelings. He wanted to do the same for her. He wanted her to know he was committed to her. They were far past the stage where they were just fooling around, but Kevin wanted to make things real.

"Thanks, Mike," he said to the green Ranger as he got out of bed. Mike was too busy trying to find a way to get comfortable to ask where he was headed.

He snuck down the hall to the girls' room and opened the door quietly. He had already told Mia about the swim meet and hoped she could put enough of the pieces together when she woke up in the morning. He would explain the rest to her later in the day.

He tip-toed to her bed and smiled as he placed the medal around her neck. He kissed her cheek and walked out of the room, before anyone caught him.

As he headed back to bed he ran into Mentor Ji. The older man roamed the halls occasionally when he was having trouble sleeping. He always made sure the Rangers were sleeping soundly and they were in their beds.

"What are you doing up, Kevin?" he asked.

Kevin yawned and shrugged his shoulders, "Couldn't sleep. I thought I would take a walk around the house."

Mentor glanced down the hallway at the girls' bedroom door, "Is there something we must discuss?"

"Nope," Kevin shook his head and yawned again. Now that he had given Mia his medal, he was finally tired. "I'm just heading back to bed. We have training tomorrow morning, right?"

"Yes, we do," Mentor nodded.

Kevin smirked, "I'll be there. Bright and early."


	149. Blue's Gold Medal

When Mia woke up, she was a little surprised to see blonde curls over her head and big hazel eyes staring down at her. She felt something round poking her just below her chest and sighed.

"Emy, what are you doing?"

"You got a medal," Emily giggled, lifting the medal so Mia could see. She had noticed it when she woke up thanks to the sun. It came into the room and reflected the light off the medal and into Emily's face. Emily, being the curious spirit that she was, just had to get up and ask Mia about it. "Is it a sleeping medal?"

Mia sat up and looked down. She spotted the gold medal that had been placed around her neck during the night. Frowning, she reached for it and examined it.

"2005 Swimming Champion?" she read the front of the medal before turning it over and her frown was replaced by a smile. She looked up at Emily, "It's Kevin's medal."

"Why is it around your neck?" Emily asked.

Mia shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. Maybe I was sleepwalking last night or…"

"You don't sleep walk," Emily shook her head, "I would know if you did. You talk in your sleep, though."

"Then how did I get this?" Mia asked.

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. You can ask Kevin about it later, though. We have to get ready for training."

Mia nodded her head as Emily walked back to her side of the room and grabbed her uniform. Mia looked back at the medal and her grin widened. She remembered Kevin talking about his various swim meets. There was one in particular that she remembered meant a lot to him. She could never quite remember the year, but 2005 did ring a bell in her mind.

Emily tossed her her uniform so she could get ready for training and Mia quickly put it on. She tucked the medal inside her shirt before leaving the room with Emily. She wanted to keep it safe and with Scruffy roaming the house, nowhere felt safe unless it was on her person.

-Samurai-

"Dude, you're a nervous wreck," Mike laughed as he tried to spar with Kevin. The boys were getting a little extra training in before Jayden, Antonio, Emily and Mia arrived because Kevin had woken up early and couldn't get back to sleep. When he woke up, he started thinking about the medal and what Mia's reaction to it would be. He started to worry as it occurred to him that maybe Mia wouldn't get the significance of the medal, and it might weird her out that he came into her room to give it to her while she slept. Mike had been trying to tell him that Mia was going to love her gift when she woke up, but nothing would ease Kevin's fears until Mia told him herself that she was happy.

"Do you blame me?" he asked. "That medal is everything to me… what if…"

"Chill, dude, here they come," Mike smiled as the four other Rangers walked out, ready for practice. He looked to Jayden, "So, what's on the agenda for this morning, boss?"

"Nothing new," Jayden shrugged his shoulders. "Just a little practice. Usual partners."

"Sweet," Mike nodded and glanced at Emily. He swung at her and she barely had time to jump out of the way.

"Mike!" she called his name and he smirked. She glared at him before snatching his training sword from his hand. Mike quickly took off running, with Emily right behind him.

Jayden shook his head. The two youngest Samurai had their own way of training and he had learned to ignore it. As long as they continued to improve, he didn't see the need to force them into doing drills.

Antonio was chuckling as he watched the green and yellow Samurai chase each other around the yard. It had come as a bit of a shock to him when he first got to the house and saw their training looked more like a game of cat and mouse than serious work, but the first time he had to spar Mike and Emily he found himself on his ass and realised what they were doing was actually very effective for them. And given how hilarious it was to watch Mike and Emily wind each other up all morning, it was fun for the whole Samurai family.

When Jayden pat him on the shoulder her turned his attention to his best friend and nodded. He followed Jayden a little ways away so they could have enough room for their regular routine, leaving Kevin and Mia to train together.

Mia reached into her shirt and pulled out the medal, "I found this on me this morning. Any clue how it got there?" she asked with a smirk. Kevin shrugged his shoulders, playing along.

"Nope. Not a clue," he went to grab two training swords.

"Huh, that's weird," Mia laughed. "Well, seeing as it seems to like me, I'm thinking of keeping it."

"Oh yeah," Kevin nodded. "I guess that's fair. I doubt I would want to piss off the 2005 swim champ."

"Why? What's the worse he can do? Splash me?" Mia chuckled.

"Hey, if he's a good swimmer he might save your life one day," Kevin said. "You know, drowning and all…"

"Maybe he's already saved my life. I remember a time where I was acting kind of bi-polar because of… was it poison?"

"I think so," Kevin nodded and smiled.

"Well, whatever deadly substance it was, he found the cure," Mia looked at the medal, "Wow, why am I wasting my time with you? I could be dating whoever owns this. It's just too bad I have no idea who it is."

Kevin leaned forward and kissed her, "I'm glad you like it."

"So, why did you give it to me?" she asked. "Wasn't this a life changing meet or something like that? You don't have to…"

"Mia, it's yours," Kevin smiled. "I trust you with it. Besides, it looks a lot better on you than it does me. Just promise me you won't lose it."

"Promise," Mia nodded. She tucked it back into her shirt and held up her sword, "So, are you ready to get your ass kicked?"

"You think you're going to beat me?" Kevin smirked.

"I don't see a gold medal around your neck," Mia teased.

On the other end of the yard, Emily had finally caught up to Mike and tackled him to the ground. She sat on top of him for good measure and kept him pinned while he struggled to get free.

Breaking her concentration for a moment, Emily glanced over at Mia and Kevin.

"So, what's up the medal?" she asked Mike. "Do you know anything about it?"

"A little," Mike nodded his head and smirked as he looked up at Emily. He could easily grab her and throw her into the dirt, but it was a lot more fun to let her think she was winning.

"How little?" Emily glanced down at her boyfriend. Mike shrugged his shoulders.

"Kevin came to me for advice last night," he said. "He was ready for more with Mia and wanted to tell her without… you know… going there."

"Going where?"

"Uh… you know… when two people really love each other they…"

"Oh," Emily blushed. "That kind of more… wait, why doesn't he want that kind of more, though? I mean, he and Mia are practically married. Last night, when I went to bed, it was kind of like I was interrupting a moment between my parents…"

"It's a big step, Em," Mike said. "And with Master Xandred threatening to take over the world, it's even bigger."

"I know that," Emily nodded. She looked down at Mike, "I'm just asking. They both seem like they're ready for more. Why are they hesitating?"

"That medal means a lot to Kevin. It's probably the most personal and thoughtful thing he could ever give to Mia. It would be like… if you gave me your flute. For keeps."

"No way," Emily shook her head. "I love you, but I need my flute."

"I know," Mike laughed. "But… imagine doing that. Imagine loving someone that much. The medal… it's just a hunk of metal that means a lot to Kevin. It means so much more when it's around her neck, though."

"I doubt Mia's going to be taking it off anytime soon then," Emily smirked.

"Unlikely," Mike nodded. He grabbed Emily suddenly and threw her into the ground before rolling on top of her. Now he was sitting and looking down on her. He smirked wildly. "And you thought you had me pinned."

"Mike!" Emily shrieked with laughter. She tried to push him off but he grabbed her wrists and held them tight. Suddenly, he heard someone clearing their voice from behind him and a large shadow was cast over him and Emily. He turned his head and glanced over his shoulder.

Mia, Kevin, Antonio and Jayden were standing just behind him and Emily. They were all shaking their heads.

"If you two are done flirting…" Mia teased.

"Aw, why did you have to interrupt them?" Antonio laughed. "I wanted to see if they would actually go for it and kiss."

"We all know they were going to kiss," Kevin smirked. "What I wanted to see was if they would be interrupted by Mentor Ji."

"Training's over," Jayden announced to the couple. Mike got up off Emily and held out his hand to help her up. She took it and was pulled to her feet as the group started to disband. Showers were definitely needed, and for the boys it was a race to see who would get the privilege of showering first.

Mia stayed behind. She and Emily had their own bathroom so there wasn't usually a competition for the hot water. She watched the boys run inside and her hand touched the medal around her neck.

Emily noticed her best friend wasn't headed inside and walked back to the pink Ranger. She smirked as she glanced up and looked Mia in the eyes.

"So, the medal's really important, huh?" she asked.

Mia nodded her head, "It would be like if you gave Mike your flute," she answered. Emily chuckled. Mike had said the same thing.

"Kevin really loves you," she said. "Like, really, really loves you. He's very different when he's with you."

"A good different I hope," Mia smiled. Emily nodded.

"Yeah, it's a good different. You bring out the best in him."

"Good."

"So…" Emily started rocking back and forth on her heels, "Can I ask why he decided to give you the medal?"

Mia looked down at her little sister, "Let's just say we have a little exchange. You know: personal for personal."

"What did you give him?" Emily asked. "I didn't notice anything missing from our room. You don't have a lot of stuff anyways…"

"I'll tell you eventually, Emy," Mia chuckled. "How about you shower first? I need to figure out where I'm going to leave the medal for safe keeping when it's my turn to wash up."

"I can hold onto it," Emily smiled.

"Dream on," Mia laughed. "The medal isn't leaving my sight."

"I won't lose it. I've never seen a gold medal before. I'll be too busy admiring it to lose it."

"Shower," Mia smirked as she pointed to the house. Emily pouted to her big sister for a moment before turning to the house and making her way inside. Mia laughed again before following her inside. One day she would let Emily get a good look at the medal, but only after it lost its romantic appeal. And something told Mia that wouldn't be for a while.

A long while.


	150. Family Relations: The Lost Chapter

_Author'__s Note: Wow, How could I have missed this... This is now a missing chapter, or Lost Chapter that was supposed to be posted right after chapter 144 "Not Quite Convinced". If any of you were confused, this was the reason why. I apologize._

* * *

Kevin searched through the house for Mia. After finishing in the kitchen he had left her to train for a couple of hours with Jayden and Mike. There wasn't much else planned for the day, and Kevin had wanted to keep up in his training so he wouldn't fall behind. With everything that had been happening recently, it was hard to keep a regular schedule going.

As he passed through the common room he noticed Antonio was staring up at the high shelf patiently. He couldn't see over the ledge, no one could unless they were boosted up, and he thought the Black Box and Mike's Bear Zord were still up there. Neither Ranger had any clue that Emily managed to convince the Bear to give her the Box in exchange for a play date with her Ape Zord.

"Still waiting, huh?" Kevin chuckled. He gave Antonio a pat on the back. The gold Ranger nodded.

"Yep. Mike was right about the Bear Zord being patient. He's also pretty stubborn."

"I'm sure he'll come down soon enough," Kevin smiled. "Have you seen Mia anywhere?"

"She was just in here a few moments ago looking for you," Antonio chuckled. He turned to Kevin, "You know, the house isn't so big that you guys shouldn't be able to find each other."

"I guess when we're both looking things get a little complicated," Kevin said. He took a seat. If Mia was searching for him he figured it would be best if he stayed in one spot. At least then they wouldn't be just missing each other. He glanced up at Antonio as the fisherman turned his attention back to the shelf. "So, you're almost done with the Black Box, huh? I mean, once the Bear Zord comes down."

"Just Mike and Jayden left," Antonio nodded. "All the other symbols have been programmed. I'll be happy when it's done."

"I'll bet," Kevin said. "It must be tiring work."

"Yep."

Just then, Mia walked into the room with both Emily and Mike's Zords sitting on her shoulders. She noticed Kevin and Antonio in the common room and sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness," she grabbed the Bear Zord and handed it to Antonio, "Guess who I found soaring around the training yard."

"The Bear Zord?" Antonio took the little creature in his hand and glared at it, "You're more trouble than you're worth, amiguito."

"I found him playing with the Ape," Mia lifted the Ape from her other shoulder and placed it on the table. "We probably should have known these two would be up to something."

"Wait," Kevin frowned. "If the Bear Zord is here and not up there…"

Before Kevin could finish his sentence Antonio grabbed a stool and pushed it under the shelf. He hopped up and peeked over the ledge. He was disappointed to find the Black Box wasn't there.

He turned and glared down at the Bear Zord from the stool. He assumed that when the Bear and the Ape left to play together, the Bear must have hidden the Black Box somewhere so Antonio wouldn't be able to find it, "Alright, where did you hide it?"

The Bear Zord shook its head before reverting back into its folded state. Antonio sighed and rolled his eyes. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Mike's symbol disk. He tossed it at the Bear.

"You're officially going last," he muttered. "I'm not even going to bother with you until I've got Jayden's power programmed."

Kevin and Mia pulled out their Zords, assuming they would be able to help locate the Black Box. While Antonio, Mia, nor Kevin could understand what the Bear was saying, their Zords would be able to. If they couldn't get an answer from the Bear, they hoped the Turtle and Dragon could.

Kevin held his Dragon in his hand, "I don't care what you do to the Bear, just find the Box."

The Dragon nodded and turned to the Bear. He reached his neck out and poked the Bear repeatedly. The Turtle merely rolled her little eyes.

"While they do that," Kevin said, turning his attention to Mia, "I was wondering if you wanted to come to the movies with me. It's been ages since we've had a day to ourselves."

Mia glanced over at Antonio and smirked at the gold Ranger before shaking her head, "Why would I want to do that, Kev?"

"I… uh…"

"I'm just teasing," Mia laughed. "Of course I want to go. Just give me a few minutes to get ready."

Kevin sighed in relief and nodded his head as she walked off. He had to admit, she had scared him for a moment. He turned to Antonio when he heard chuckling and shoved the Gold Ranger, "That's not funny."

"You looked terrified," Antonio laughed.

"Shut up before I tell my Dragon Zord to stop helping you."

The laughter stopped and Antonio changed his expression from entertained to serious. He nodded at Kevin.

"Right, sorry. So, uh… any idea where Mike hides things when he's got a secret? Maybe the Bear Zord…"

"Mike doesn't hide things," Kevin smirked as Mia returned. He took her hand while keeping his eye on Antonio, "If you've ever seen the state of his room, you'll realise why. I can't find anything in there already."

"So I'm screwed?"

"Until the Bear talks, basically," Mia laughed. "We'll help you when we get home. So Kev, what movie are we seeing?"

"Nothing sappy," Kevin warned her. "I'll see anything as long as there are no weddings."

"You love those movies, just admit it," Mia teased.

-Samurai-

Outside, Emily was sitting on the bench. Normally when she was here she would be playing her flute, but today she didn't feel like playing. She had it by her side, just in case someone walked out and saw her, but she wasn't going to play it.

In her hands she held the Black Box. She knew it was probably best she returned it to Antonio, but she didn't want to. It wasn't fair. He couldn't ask her to betray her sister and then expect her to do him a favour by returning the Box. Besides, it wasn't like she had gotten it back for him. It had literally been thrown at her and she just so happened to catch it and now it was in her possession. For all she knew, the Bear was expecting her to hide it as part of his game, and she wasn't going to let the Bear down. He and Mike seemed to be the only two people in this house who understood how hard it was for her to not trust her sister.

She heard someone approaching her from the house and quickly tucked the box away before they could see it. She reached out and grabbed her flute as they sat down.

"What are you doing?" she heard Jayden ask her. She shrugged her shoulders and held up her flute.

"What does it look like?"

"It doesn't look like you're playing," Jayden chuckled. "I haven't heard you playing at all since you stepped out here."

"I'm trying to remember a song," Emily answered. Jayden shook his head.

"There's a reason you don't make a habit of lying, Em," he smirked. "You're not very convincing. So what are you really doing out here? Is it your sister?"

"You can say that," Emily nodded. She turned to Jayden, "You know it's not fair, right? You can't judge her. You don't know her."

Jayden sighed and leaned back on the bench. He placed his hands behind him on either side and used them to prop himself up. He gazed up at the sky and nodded.

"I know it's not fair. We all know it's not fair. And it's a lot to ask from you. You've trusted her your whole life."

"So I can't just switch it off," Emily nodded. "I'm not like you guys. I can't just break away from my family, especially when they're wrapped up in this mess too. And what if Serena's waiting for us? Has it ever occurred to you that she's with Dekker?"

"He hasn't made a move yet."

"According to Mike they're dating," Emily muttered. Jayden chuckled and shook his head.

"Don't listen to Mike."

Emily turned to Jayden, "Don't listen to… Jayden, that would be like asking you not to listen to Mentor Ji. Even with everything going on, I still trust Mike the most. I'll listen to him over you."

Jayden glared playfully at Emily before getting an idea. Mentor Ji: that was his ticket to explaining things to Emily. Now everything was making sense. The reason the others couldn't get her to understand completely was because they didn't understand it themselves. Unlike Emily, their families were all hidden away safely. They weren't wrapped up in the Ranger life anymore.

But Jayden still had a family, and just like Emily, his family was involved. Mentor Ji wasn't Jayden's real father, but he had been the father figure for Jayden for so many years now that Jayden still considered the older man to be a part of his family.

"Hey, Emily, can you imagine something for me?" Jayden asked. Emily turned to her leader. It was a strange request, but she nodded her head.

"Yeah… okay…"

"Imagine Serena was back home. Like, here with us or your parents' home. It doesn't matter."

"Okay," Emily nodded.

"Now, imagine Dekker's still out there, but instead of spending most of his time with Serena, he's with Mentor."

"Why would he be with Mentor?" Emily frowned. "That doesn't make any sense."

"I know," Jayden smirked, "but, for the sake of my hypothetical situation can you please just imagine that's what's going on."

"Okay…" Emily shrugged her shoulders. "So Mentor's with Dekker."

"Right, and Mentor's sneaking around, doing all this suspicious stuff… how would you feel about that?"

"Confused," Emily answered. "I am confused. Why do you want Dekker and Mentor to…?"

"Emily, just keep imagining, okay. How do you think the others feel about Mentor spending a lot of time with Dekker? Do you think they like it, or would they be confused too?"

"Confused," Emily nodded her head. "And maybe a little worried. Why is Mentor on speaking terms with Dekker. He wants to kill you."

Jayden smiled to himself. Slowly, Emily was getting it.

"You wouldn't trust Mentor very much if he was spending so much time with Dekker, right? You would be asking yourself questions. Would you be scared?"

"Yeah."

"And what if I wasn't scared," Jayden said. "What if I wasn't worried about Mentor? What if I trusted him, even though we know he's spending a lot of time with Dekker? Would you like that?"

"No," Emily shook her head. She turned to Jayden, "You can't trust Mentor if he's with Dekker. Who knows what could…?"

Jayden gave Emily a look and the yellow Ranger finally clued in. She sighed and lowered her head.

"Okay, okay, I get it," she muttered. "But you also have to get that I can't just… not trust her. Besides, I already promised Mike I would be careful. What more can I do?"

"You just have to trust us more, okay?" Jayden smiled. "We won't hurt you."

"Trust you more than Serena?" Emily looked up at Jayden. "That's not going to be easy."

"Tell you what, then," Jayden smirked. "Antonio's given up on programming Mike's symbol until the Bear decides to cooperate. That means he'll be asking me about my symbol soon."

"I have until you're done teaching Antonio?" Emily frowned.

Jayden shook his head, "No. While I'm teaching Antonio about the Fire Samurai and how my Symbol Power works, he's not going to need the Black Box anyways. You can hold onto it until then. Only give it back once you trust us completely, okay?"

Emily glanced down at her pocket and then back up at Jayden, "How did you…?"

"I saw your Ape and the Bear playing together and figured you were behind it," Jayden smirked. "When I saw Antonio in the common room, he was acting as referee to a little Zord fight. He told me they were trying to figure out where the Bear hid the Black Box and your Ape looked like she knew something."

"I should have given it back…"

Jayden shook his head, "It's like I said, while I'm teaching Antonio, he doesn't need it. Only give it back to him when you can trust us, okay?"

"But what if we need it? What if when you're done teaching Antonio I still can't trust you over my sister?"

"Don't give it back," Jayden shrugged. "It's not going to work without the Bear anyways, and that little monster doesn't seem very eager to be programmed. Mike's disk won't work unless the Bear cooperates so…"

"I might be able to talk him around," Emily said. "I did convince him to give me the Box back."

"Only when you're ready," Jayden smirked. He gestured to the house, "Now, Antonio and I are going to lock ourselves away while I teach, and apparently Mia and Kevin are gone for the afternoon… Why don't you and Mike take Scruffy for a walk and take the scenic route back? I'm sure Mentor Ji will believe you both got lost."

Emily smiled and nodded her head. She got off the bench to head inside to find Mike, but before leaving Jayden she gave him a hug.

"Thanks for getting it," she whispered.

Jayden smiled, "Hey, I would feel the same if you guys told me Mentor was acting a little freaky. And given how far away Dekker is, I doubt any danger is immediate at this point… unless you trust the Nighlok over us too?"

"Never," Emily shook her head. Jayden gently pushed her towards the house.

"Good, now go get lost. And keep the Black Box safe!"


	151. Why He Did It

_Author's Note:_

_Dear __Irene,_

_I'm sorry this chapter wasn't posted when you expected it to be up. Unfortunately work, family, and my own personal life got in the way and I was unable to sit in front of my computer and provide you with your daily dose of reading material. Not only that, but I just couldn't coordinate time, inspiration and motivation. While I did manage to post three chapters yesterday (chapter 148 was published in the early morning in my time zone and the following two were posted later in the day), I should have been on the ball today and this chapter should have been posted sooner…_

_I've already posted an author's note back in chapter 52 concerning my updates. I will restate it here for you and all my other readers:_

"_I shouldn't have to justify myself on this, however, I still feel like I do. I know I update daily, sometimes even twice a day. However, I do have a rather hectic life outside of fanfiction. While I am doing my best to get chapters to you all quickly, please understand if a chapter is not up *right* when you want it. Chapters will be posted when they are posted."_

_I genuinely do appreciate the fact that you all love this story and can't wait for an update, but I do ask that you be patient. I have been trying my best to update daily. Unfortunately I have fans around the world and the time zones don't all match up so many of you may not get the updates daily. However, rest assured, I will always try to update in a timely manner. Whether it's once a day, or once every few days (This break in episodes isn't helping me very much. There's only so long I can have Antonio working on the Black Box before I'm driven to madness myself)._

_Anyways, on with the chapter (which follows chapter 149, just in case people are still confused). I hope you all enjoy it! I promise to continue writing through the breaks and I will post regularly. All I ask is for you to be patient if I happen to miss a day._

* * *

Dekker couldn't remember a time where he had ever felt this bad. For centuries he had lived on his own and any person he had ever wronged had quickly been killed, leaving Dekker without any feelings of guilt or shame. He was part Nighlok, so hurting humans, making them feel pain and making them suffer was something he was programmed to do.

But when it came to Serena, everything was different. He knew she had been hurt when she saw her sister had lost faith in her. Being so far away from her family, and knowing they weren't waiting for her back home pained her quite a bit, and Dekker realised he was to blame for this.

The guilt kept him awake at night. He still shared a room with Serena because she wouldn't let him out of her sight, and as she slept he couldn't help but notice how she would keep Monkey the Ape and the picture book by her side, if not cradled to her chest. He knew it was his fault she was feeling alone, and he wanted to make her feel better. When he wasn't staring at Serena, which only ever resulted in his guilt growing stronger, he was replaying the scene over and over in his head of the very moment Serena lost everything. The yellow Ranger, the only person whose opinion and trust really matter to Serena, had turned her back on Serena. He had seen Serena's heart breaking in that moment, even if she tried to cover it up.

It was because of him the yellow Ranger, and the rest of the Rangers, didn't trust her; because she was aligned with him. While that wasn't exactly true, he knew that was what the Rangers saw. They thought they were doing the right thing by distancing themselves from her, but they didn't know the whole story. Dekker knew how complicated his and Serena's relationship was. He knew what it would look like to other people.

He was faithful to Serena. In the little time he had known her, she had done something to him. Never intentionally, but she made him feel different. She challenged him in ways he never thought he could be challenged, and she intrigued him in ways no other human ever had; at least, as far as he could remember, no one had ever made him feel the way Serena did. When he made a promise to her, it was always genuine. He always intended to keep it. He would never do anything to Serena that would put her in danger or make her suffer. The only thing he intended on doing that could hurt her was his duel with the red Ranger and the possible killing of the other Rangers, but she knew all about that. And it wasn't even his doing. He was still part Nighlok. Murder, pain, suffering was all part of him. Not to mention Urumasa had a mind of its own.

But just because he was faithful to Serena, that didn't mean she was faithful to him. Dekker knew that truth all too well. She was faithful and loyal to the Rangers, and no one else. He knew she would stand against him when the time came for the duel, something he secretly feared. He couldn't bring himself to hurt her.

He saw her training by herself in the garden and sighed loudly. Ever since her sister walked away from her she spent most of her time training herself. She still sparred with him, but the matches were rough. Dekker found he couldn't do his best against her, and Serena was trying hard to knock him off his feet and cause him pain. And she was usually successful.

Serena noticed him staring and growled as she turned to him.

"Either pick up a stick and fight with me, or get back inside," she barked. "I'm not going to put up with you right now."

Dekker obliged. He grabbed a training sword from one of the servants and stood before Serena. She swung wildly at him and he made no effort to block her shot. He was sent backwards into the dirt and Serena glared down at him.

"At least make it look like you're not pitiful," she muttered. She didn't hold her hand out for him. He didn't deserve her help.

"I wanted to apologize."

"You already have," Serena rolled her eyes. "Every morning you've apologized. Every afternoon. Every time we're about to fall asleep. I get it, okay. This is just another scam. A trick! You're trying to fool me. It's not going to happen again. Whatever you're trying to do…"

"I'm not trying to do anything," Dekker sighed. "I did not mean any harm by offering the Rangers a chance to visit. I thought it would help…"

"Bullshit!" Serena spat. "My sister's terrified of you! I don't know why I agreed to go along with your stupid plan! Of course it would freak her out…"

"My offer was true," Dekker got to his feet and bowed before Serena. "But I realise I have put you in a strange position and I have alienated you from the Rangers…"

Serena held out her sword, "Don't think for a second I'm going to let you leave," she told him. "I don't care how much I hate your guts. I'm keeping you here where I can keep an eye on you."

"I understand," Dekker nodded. "I just wanted to say…"

"I'm tired of listening to you, Dekker," Serena said. "If you weren't immortal I would kill you personally. Do you know how much it hurts to watch them walk away like that? My baby sister was mortified in my presence! I've never seen that before."

"I know…" Dekker lowered his head and Serena finally lowered her tone. She took a few breathes to calm herself down. Getting angry at Dekker wasn't going to accomplish much. The angrier she got, the more pitiful he looked and that look only angered her more. At least if he looked like he was happy that his plan, whatever it was, had succeeded than she would know he was being honest, but right now she couldn't read him. He told her their outing to the park hadn't gone according to plan, and she wanted to believe him, but she couldn't risk opening herself up to him again. She had already lost her baby sister, there wasn't more she could afford, or wanted, to lose.

"Look, just be straight with me," she said. "Whatever you say to me can't be worse than what I'm already thinking."

"I'll be completely honest with you," Dekker nodded. "What is it you wish to hear?"

"The truth," Serena said. "Why did you do it? Why are you here? Why won't you leave and why do you keep staring at me? What role do I play in your plan?"

"I…" Dekker couldn't quite answer that. He couldn't find the words that would explain his reasons. At least, not in a way Serena would understand. He had done it because he cared for her and he wanted to see her happy again. He was here because he wanted to train and she was the best he could find. He wouldn't leave because he felt there was still so much he had to learn, not only from Serena, but about Serena. He stared at her because she fascinated him.

And he had no plan. At least, not one that concerned her. All his plans were risky and dangerous. They involved death and he didn't want to see her die.

"Dekker," Serena called his name, snapping him out of his thoughts. She waved her hand in front of his face, "I want an answer."

"I don't know what to say," Dekker sighed.

"Whatever feels right," Serena shrugged. "Anything but the truth would feel wrong. Even you can feel like you've done something wrong, right?"

"Whatever feels right?" Dekker asked. Serena nodded her head.

"And don't even think about lying to me," she said. "I want the truth. I want everything."

Dekker nodded and dropped his training sword on the ground. Serena looked at it curiously before she felt him wrap his arms around her: one around her waist and the other gently around the back of her neck. Suddenly, she felt his lips pressed against hers. Her eyes widened in shock for a moment before she settled. She didn't kiss him back, but she found herself unwilling to push him away.

When he finally let her go Serena felt weak. She watched Dekker as he picked up his sword again and turned away. She blinked a few times before calling his name. He turned around.

"What the hell?" she asked him.

Dekker shrugged his shoulders, "You asked for the truth. I never intended to harm you, nor do I ever want to. My words to you are true. When the time comes for my duel with the red Ranger, I'm terrified you're going to get in my way. You will be my one weakness. Now you know why I have done the things I've done for you."

With that, he turned and walked back inside the Temple. Serena was left speechless. A part of her wondered if this was still just a game to him. Another part trusted that this was real. She didn't know which part to believe.

Slowly, she started to make her way back to the Temple, hoping for some time by herself to figure this out. As she retreated into her home, she failed to notice a Nighlok standing just outside the Tengen Gate, heartbroken.

"This isn't right…"


	152. Heartbroken

Mia was laying in her bed, her eyes shut, her body still and her breathing steady, but she wasn't sleeping. She couldn't sleep when she knew that at any moment she would be attacked.

She counted down the seconds in her head and when she reached zero she sprang up and lunged at her attacker. They both were thrown over the edge of the bed and they landed with a thump on the floor, with Mia on top of her attacker. Kevin's medal, which she still wore around her neck, fell from her shirt and dangled above her attacker's face. Mia chuckled, noting the look of shock on her enemy's face.

"You'll have to be a little sneakier next time, Emy," she said, using on hand to tuck the medal away.

"I wouldn't have to be sneaky if you just let me see," Emily pouted.

Mia shook her head, "Naw, this is too fun."

Emily frowned and tried to reach for Mia's shirt but the pink Ranger grabbed her wrist and pinned it to the ground. She knew Emily only wanted to see the medal and deep down Mia wanted to show it off, but Mia was also having way too much fun teasing the younger girl. She never had any siblings growing up, and she was just starting to realise how much she had missed out. Picking on little sisters was a very entertaining pastime.

"You're mean," Emily pouted. It was all she could do. Mia had her wrists pinned down and she was sitting on top of Emily, making it next to impossible to move.

Mia smirked, "I know."

"Why can't I see it?" Emily asked as Mia slowly started to get off. Mia shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm bored."

"Then let me see it and then we'll do something together," Emily suggested. "I'm bored too."

"But you're already keeping me entertained," Mia chuckled. She sat down on the floor beside her bed and leaned against the mattress as she looked at Emily. She knew she wouldn't get much sleep during her nap with Emily lurking about. She had been right, and thankfully she had kept herself awake long enough to keep her medal safe.

"I'm not going to give up, you know," Emily gestured to the medal, which was now safely hidden inside Mia's shirt. "I will see it. Especially when I have nothing else to do."

"Where are the boys?" Mia asked, trying to find something to take Emily's mind off the medal so she could maybe get an hour or so of shut eye.

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "Jayden's teaching Antonio… and I don't know where Kevin and Mike went. I just hope they both come back in one piece."

"I'm sure they won't piss each other off too much… if they took off together," Mia laughed. "It's just too bad they can't get along like we do."

"We would get along better if I could see the medal," Emily lunged forward but Mia grabbed her before she could make another move for the medal and she pulled Emily into a hug.

"Aw, I love you too."

"Not what I wanted," Emily chuckled as she tried to pull away. Mia held on tight, though. Emily struggled, "Let. Me. Go."

"If that's what you want," Mia smirked and let go of Emily just as the yellow Ranger pushed away from Mia with all her might, causing Emily to tumble backwards. Mia simply chuckled and shook her head, "Good old Emily."

"I don't like you," Emily frowned as she stared up at the ceiling. Mia gave her little sister a pat on the knee.

"You're way too fun to tease."

-Samurai-

Serena could still feel Dekker's kiss on her lips as she sat on the couch with her dinner in her lap. He was over in the rocking chair, enjoying the food he had made for the two of them. She could feel her stomach rumbling, but she couldn't bring herself to eat the food on her plate. Not when there were still so many questions going through her head.

Dekker rocked back and forth in his seat, trying to keep his gaze away from Serena. She hadn't said a word to him since he had kissed her, and he was worried about what she would say when she finally did talk to him.

He noticed her plate was still full and his was nearly cleared of food. He glanced in her direction, avoiding eye contact.

"Did I not prepare it right?" he asked. "Is it burned?"

Serena shook her head, "No."

"Then you should eat," Dekker said.

Serena's stomach rumbled again. She looked down at her plate and scooped up some vegetables with her fork. She brought the food close to her mouth, but she couldn't eat it. She put it back down on the plate.

"What was that?" she asked him. Dekker glanced at the food.

"Peas. I thought you liked them."

"I do… but that's not what… I meant the kiss, Dekker. What was that?"

"I explained it all to you," Dekker said.

"You just said you were loyal," Serena frowned. "You won't betray me… how do I know you're not playing me? How do I know this is real?"

"You still don't trust me. I understand," Dekker nodded. He got up from the chair and held his plate in one hand while the other reached out to take Serena's, "I can take your plate if you're not hungry."

Serena shook her head and leaned forward to place her plate on the coffee table before getting up. She took Dekker's plate from his hand and put it aside as well. Once the dishes were out of the way she looked up at him. She stared into his eyes.

"Tell me exactly what you're feeling," she said, hoping she would be able to tell if he was lying to her or not. She knew what love felt like. She had a boyfriend before she got sick and she loved him dearly. The only reason they had broken up was because of her sickness and she had been sure she was going to die. Unable to keep him tied down and wanting nothing more than for him to move on and be happy, she had to let him go. She was over him now, as it had been years since she had seen his face, but she still remembered the way he made her feel.

She was hoping that her experience could help her figure out if Dekker was being honest.

Dekker lowered his head, "I don't know how to explain it."

"Just do it," she said. "If you're really feeling this way, you'll be able to do it."

Dekker took a deep breath, "I've never felt so human," he said. "It's been centuries since I've felt such a range of emotion, and the only time I do feel is when I'm near you."

"Wow…" Serena breathed. "That's uh…"

"I've lived for centuries, and for as long as I can remember, I've only wanted one thing. A duel with the strongest opponent. I wanted to be challenged once again by someone who would last more than five minutes against my blade. Now that I have found the red Ranger, Urumasa's hunger only grows. The only thing I want more is…"

Suddenly, Dekker turned away. He grabbed the plates from the coffee table and started to make his way back to the kitchen, leaving Serena with more questions than answers. Was he going to say what she thought he was going to say?

She followed him into the kitchen. She was going to get him to speak, even if it meant staying up all night fighting with him.

"You haven't finished," she told him. "How can I trust you if you don't answer my questions. It's simple, Dekker. How do you feel?"

"I have not felt this way in quite some time," Dekker told her. "I can't remember a time where I have ever felt this way."

"What do you feel?" Serena asked. She reached forward and took Dekker's hands. "There is no wrong answer if you tell me the truth!"

"Strong feelings," Dekker said. "I have strong feelings for you, and only you. They are more powerful than my cravings for the perfect duel."

Serena blinked, "So… you won't fight Jayden if…"

"I must fight the red Ranger," Dekker shook his head, "It is Urumasa's battle. But you asked me how I felt, and you asked me to be honest. I have done that."

"Is it love?" Serena asked. "Dekker… what you're feeling…"

"I don't know," Dekker sighed. He pushed her away, "You are not helping. I cannot discuss this with you. Not anymore. You know too much. I know too little."

"But…"

"I am going to sleep," Dekker said as he headed off. "Tomorrow I will train on my own. It will be nice to feel solitude again."

Serena watched him leave and suddenly she started to feel something. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Crap…"

She turned to the sink and spotted the dishes that still needed to be done. Her stomach rumbled, but she still couldn't eat her dinner. She placed her food aside on the counter and reached for a rag to clean the rest of the dishes.

As her hand touched the cloth she felt something grazing the top of her hand. She turned and saw long red fingers and blue nails grabbing her hand. She jumped back, but it wasn't fair enough. The hand grabbed her roughly and pulled her in. An arm was wrapped around her neck and it pressed against her windpipe tightly, keeping her from breathing.

"I've never once seen a Nighlok and a Samurai together," a soft voice whispered in Serena's ear. "Let's keep it that way, shall we?"

Serena pulled on the arm that was trying to choke the life out of her. She had been close to death twice now, and she wasn't very fond of the saying "third time's the charm".

"Let… me… go…" she managed to stammer out.

"Why would I do that?" he captor asked. "I can get you out of my way, make the Samurai suffer, raise the river, be with my beloved once more and make Master Xandred happy. All I have to do is kill you."

"The Samurai… hate… me," Serena said. She would say anything to get herself out of this mess, though she hated that her words were true.

"Four out of five still isn't bad," Serena felt her attacker shrug," Besides, there's really only one thing that interests me, and it seems like he's more interested in you. That's going to change… hey!"

Serena finally slipped out of her captor's arms and dashed for the door, hoping to alert Dekker, or at least the other Guardians of the intruder. She was only inches from the door, though, when Moogers appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and swarmed around her.

"Shit…" Serena muttered as they prepared to attack. She had nothing to defend herself with against their swords so instinctively she held her arms up to cover her face. A scream ripped through the air as one of their blades slashed her arm. With her good hand, Serena covered her wound and she fell to the ground.

Suddenly, she was pulled back up by several pairs of arms before one set, stronger than the others, grabbed her again around the neck and applied pressure until Serena fell limp.

In the other room, Dekker had only just gotten comfortable on the floor when he heard a heart shattering screaming coming from the kitchen. Unable to ignore Serena's cries, he bolted out of bed and raced to the kitchen. He pushed the door open and looked around.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No one was inside.

He walked around the room as the servants filled in. Dekker now knew he hadn't heard something. They all had a worried look on their faces, and he could hear a few of them muttering Serena's name.

Finally, Dekker heard one speaking to him.

"What did you do to the Guardian?" he asked. Dekker turned around and saw he was standing before the others. He looked rather angry, but still cowardly at the same time. Still, Dekker had to give him points for his courage.

"I have done nothing," Dekker answered honestly before spotting something at the man's feet. He approached the servant, which caused the man to take a few steps back. Dekker ignored this and knelt down. On the ground were small drops of red liquid.

Dekker got back to his feet. He looked to the servants.

"I will be leaving you…"

"Not until you tell us what you did to Serena!" another one shouted.

"I will bring her back," Dekker promised them. He pushed them out of his way as he headed for the door. "Keep the Tengen Gate safe in our absence."

The servants watched him leave, their blood boiling. One of them quickly dashed to Serena and Dekker's bedroom. The others turned and listened, hearing some things being moved around before he suddenly walked out of the room with a phone in his hand.

"Anyone here remember her sister's name?" he asked the rest of the group. "The Rangers should know about this."


	153. Breaking The News

Mia should have known it wasn't going to be easy to get Emily to leave her alone. She barely got five minutes of peace before Emily was trying to grab the medal again. There wasn't much else to do in the house with everyone else occupied or gone, and Mia loved the bonding time with Emily, even if it was strange.

She had thrown a blanket over Emily's head and trapped the younger Samurai inside by wrapping her arms around the blanket and Emily.

"I will see it," Emily giggled as she tried to find a way out.

"It's a thick blanket," Mia laughed. "You can't even see the end of your nose, I'm guessing."

"So?" Emily tried to move her arms but they were pinned to the side of her body by Mia. It was then she heard her phone ringing.

Mia heard it too a smirk appeared on her lips. While Emily struggled to find her phone, Mia snatched it from the yellow Ranger's pocket. Thinking Mike was on the other end, she answered it.

"Emily can't come to the phone," she said.

"Hey!" Emily cried through the blanket. "That's my…"

"What?" Mia's voice was serious as the person on the other end spoke, and Emily could tell that something was wrong. Mia's hold around Emily loosened just enough for the yellow Ranger to remove the blanket from over her head and she turned to look at Mia. The pink Ranger nodded her head, "Okay, I get it, but we all thought… Why did you let him leave, then?" she screamed that last part.

"Mia, what's wrong?" Emily asked but Mia silenced her by holding up a finger. She spoke with the person on the phone a little longer before hanging up and handing the phone back to Emily.

The youngest Ranger looked up at Mia and was about to ask who was on the other end when Mia crawled off the bed and made her way to the door.

Emily left her phone on the bed and followed Mia through the house as the pink Ranger found Jayden, Antonio and Mentor and asked them to meet her in the common room. She then made her way to the dojo, hoping Mike and Kevin would be there.

"Mia," Emily called after the pink Ranger but Mia didn't stop to answer. She checked the dojo, found it was empty and turned around. She headed for the door, thinking that maybe Kevin and Mike were training outside.

"Mia," Emily called again. Mia poked her head outside and sighed. Kevin and Mike must have gone out for the day. She turned around and nearly bumped into Emily.

"Emy…"

"Who was on the phone?"

"Go sit with the others," Mia pointed to the common room. "I'll be there in a minute."

"Mia, that was my phone. The call was for me. Who was it? What did they…?"

"Sit," Mia ordered.

"Was it Mike? Is he okay?"

"Emily, I'm not going to say it again," Mia grabbed Emily by the shoulders and pushed her into the common room. "Sit down. I'll be back in a minute."

"Is Mike okay?" Emily asked as she watched Mia take off. She heard Mentor shifting slightly in his seat.

"Mike should be fine," he assured his youngest Ranger. "I sent him and Kevin to do groceries. I'm not expecting them back for some time, still."

"But…"

Mentor cut her off by patting on her stool, telling her to take a seat. He had no idea what was going on or why Mia had called this meeting, but it was obviously very important.

The four of them sat in silence for a moment, unsure of what was going on until Mia walked back into the room, her own phone in her hand. She tucked it back into her pocket and sighed.

"Something's happened," she said. "We should have seen it coming…"

"Is it Mike?" Emily asked. "Is he…"

"Mike's fine," Mia promised. "He's out with Kevin. Both of them are on their way home."

"Then what is it?" Jayden asked. He found it a little weird to be clueless as to what was going on. Usually when meeting like this were held he knew the reason why, and if he didn't know the full reason, he was still more informed than the others.

"Emily, the call on your phone was from one of the guardians of the Tengen Gate," Mia said.

"One of the guardians?" Emily frowned. "As in not my sister?"

"Why would they be calling?" Antonio asked. "We're not exactly on speaking terms with Serena right now, are we? I mean, she's working with Dekker, for starters, and even if she wasn't, long distance is still a factor…"

"Emergencies are always an exception," Mia shrugged. She turned to Emily, "Apparently the guardians heard what they think was Serena screaming. When they went to check it out, she was nowhere in sight. They've searched the Temple and the grounds, and they haven't found her."

"What…"

"There's more…" Mia sighed. "When they heard the scream and went to check up on Serena, they found Dekker."

"He lives with her," Antonio shrugged.

"As soon as he was caught, though, Dekker took off. The guardians think he did something. Now Dekker's taken off, Serena's missing and no one's got a clue where she could be. Something tells me it's not just a coincidence."

"I doubt Dekker's behind this," Antonio said. "He and Serena are…"

"We thought Serena was working with him," Jayden pointed out. "They were too close for comfort, and the things Dekker's done with what we thought was Serena's permission."

"Face it, if he wanted, he could get her to do whatever he asked," Mia nodded. "Maybe we were wrong."

"We may never find out what happened between Serena and Dekker, especially if we sit here wondering," Mentor said. He stood up, "I will be making a few calls, both local and in Japan. If anyone's seen Serena or Dekker, we'll know."

"That means we'll have to start looking too," Jayden said. "The guardians will probably search Japan, but I've got a feeling that Dekker's going to bring Serena here."

"He wants a duel with you," Antonio nodded, "He'll turn up here eventually. We might as well start looking. The sooner we do, the faster we'll find Serena. Who knows what he could be doing to…?"

Antonio was interrupted when a soft thump reached his ears and he and the two other Rangers turned and found Emily was no longer on her stool, but sprawled, face down, on the floor.

"Emily!" Mia cried as she knelt down beside Emily and rolled the yellow Ranger over so she was on her back. She tapped the yellow Ranger's cheek as Emily stirred, "Emily, are you okay?"

"It's a big shock for her," Jayden sighed, "Of course she's not okay."

"Mike and Kevin are on their way home, right?" Antonio asked Mia. The pink Ranger nodded her head as she pulled Emily into her arms. Antonio turned to Jayden, "Mike's not going to be able to sit still once he finds out, and Emily's going to be no help right now. Maybe her and Mia should stay home while we fill Mike and Kevin in and the four of us go searching?"

"That's probably for the best," Jayden nodded. He looked over to Mia for her approval. She nodded her head. Emily wasn't ready to go anywhere given her condition, and someone needed to stay here and look after her. Mentor would be busy making phone calls around the world, and even though Mike was probably the better choice, he would probably be too frustrated and wound up to be of any comfort.

"Just find her," Mia said. "Before we all feel guilty."


	154. Search for Serena

The boys had no idea where to start looking for Serena. As long as they believed she was with Dekker, she could be anywhere on the planet. But they also knew that sticking by Jayden raised their odds of finding her, even if only by a little bit. If Dekker did have Serena, he would come after Jayden soon.

"Just stay in the open," Jayden instructed his team while keeping a special eye on Mike. The green Ranger was a bit of a loose cannon at this point. Knowing how upset Emily was back home, Mike was ready to do anything to comfort her. Right now that meant bringing her sister home. "Dekker can find us easily and that's what we want."

"If he does anything to her…" Mike growled until Kevin placed his hand on Mike's shoulder and shook his head, silencing the green Ranger.

"Dekker wouldn't dare…"

"Emily was right," Mike muttered, sticking close to his team as they crossed the plaza, "She was right to trust Serena. If we had…"

"We had to do what was best," Jayden argued. "We had to keep ourselves safe."

"Yeah, now look where we ended up, amigo," Antonio shrugged, "We're out here waiting around like sitting ducks for a mad man to come and find us. We made a bit of a mistake, Jay."

"Hopefully it doesn't cost us," Kevin nodded.

-Samurai-

At home, Mia was doing her best to keep Emily calm. The yellow Ranger hadn't said much since she heard her sister was missing, but it was obvious she was terrified. She had already lost Serena once, and she hadn't taken it well. If anything happened to her sister this time around, Mia was positive Emily was going to lose it.

"The guys will find her," she promised Emily while handing her some tea. Emily shook her head, refusing to take it.

"I should have trusted her… I should have gone with her…"

Those were the only words Emily would mutter since Jayden and Antonio left. She kept saying them over and over again out of guilt. Mia felt guilty too. If they hadn't lost faith in Serena, maybe she would have reached out to them when she started losing control with Dekker. They should never have turned their backs to her.

"She's pulled herself out of worse," Mia assured the yellow Ranger. "I'm sure, wherever she is, she's fine."

Mentor Ji stepped into the room with a stack of papers in his hands. He placed them down on the table and shook his head.

"I've spoken to the Ninjas and the Pai Zhuq," he started. "They haven't seen or heard of any Nighlok outside our city walls. Tori's got friends on other Ranger teams. She's going to spread the word and hopefully someone will have spotted Dekker or Serena."

"At least people are looking," Mia smiled. She turned to Emily, "We'll find her."

"I've also contacted all your families and I've let them know about Dekker," Mentor said, surprising both Emily and Mia. Contacting the Ranger families was prohibited, and Mentor Ji was the first person to enforce that law. Mentor saw their confused looks and added: "I've kept the details to a minimum. I doubt it's would help us to worry them. But they will be looking out for Dekker, and if they spot him they'll let us know."

"Do her parents know about Serena?" Mia asked Mentor while gesturing to Emily. Mentor shook his head.

"I told her parents the same thing I told your grandmother," he said, "I promised the safe return of all the Samurai in my care. Serena was included in that promise."

"Mentor, you can ask everyone in the country to help look for Dekker, they aren't going to find him," Emily muttered before pointing to the backyard. Mentor and Mia turned to where she was pointing and they both gasped when they saw a figure approaching the Shiba House. It didn't take a genius to figure out who the figure was. Emily glanced at Mentor, "You were never good at hide and seek, were you?"

"Stay here, girls," Mentor told the yellow and pink Rangers. He held his staff tightly in his hands and stepped outside, meeting Dekker before he could come into the house and put everyone inside in danger.

Mia wrapped her arm around Emily's shoulder when she noticed the yellow Ranger trembling. She wasn't sure if it was in fear or in anger, but her little sister needed someone to comfort her.

"He won't hurt anyone," she whispered to Emily.

"He doesn't have Serena," Emily muttered. "He supposedly kidnapped her. Why doesn't he have her?"

"Maybe he left her somewhere," Mia suggested. It wasn't the most ideal situation but she couldn't leave Emily without some kind of answer.

Emily jumped out of her seat, "Yeah, left her for dead."

The youngest Ranger stormed out of the house before Mia could do anything to stop her. The pink Ranger chased after the yellow but couldn't get to Emily fast enough. Fortunately, Mentor Ji stepped in the way and grabbed Emily before she got too close to Dekker. That didn't keep Emily from getting angry, though.

"Where is she?" she screamed at Dekker. "What did you do to her?"

"I have done nothing. I am here to ask for your help…"

"Bullshit," Mia frowned as she stepped up beside Mentor. "You've been living with Serena. Who knows what you could have done to her."

"I have done nothing," Dekker insisted. The Rangers weren't going to believe him right away, he knew that much. He had to convince them he was telling the truth, and if they were anywhere near as stubborn as Serena, he had a lot of work ahead of him, and very little time.

"You made me not trust her!" Emily shouted. "You isolated her from all of us and now you've killed her!"

"I have not killed her," Dekker said. "I was getting ready to sleep when I heard her scream. Something else happened to her. Someone else took her."

"Liar!" Emily would have lunged for Dekker had Mentor not been holding her back. Instead of attacking, she broke down into tears. Her knees buckled and Mentor had to drop his defensive stance to keep her from hitting the ground.

Dekker shook his head, "I will tell you what I told your sister," he said. "She makes me feel things I've never felt before. I feel like a different man when I'm with her. She fascinates me and intrigues me to the point where I'm confused by my own feelings for her."

"Ew," Mia frowned. She had never been so turned off by someone professing their love for another human. In her eyes, though, love did not suit Dekker. "Are you saying…?"

"I cannot bring myself to harm Serena," Dekker interrupted before Mia asked him a question he couldn't answer. "I plan on doing some very bad things to you and your friends as part of my long awaited duel, but not even Urumasa can convince me to hurt Serena."

"Come inside, then," again, Mentor's words surprised Emily and Mia. Mentor ignored their looks and gestured to the house, "We will speak there. If Serena's not with you, this may be the work of Master Xandred."

Mentor Ji let go of Emily and passed her off to Mia, certain her had lost a few trust points with the girls and Emily would feel safer with Mia. The girls huddled close together as they watched Mentor Ji back into the house with Dekker right behind him.

"Emily…" Mia turned to her little sister. Emily looked up at Mia with her tear filled eyes and shrugged her shoulders.

"I just want to find my sister. If even Dekker's scared for her…"

"She'll be fine," Mia promised. "You're sister's one of the best Samurai I've ever seen. She can take care of herself."

"But for how long?" Emily asked. She turned back to the house and she could see into the common room. Mentor Ji had already taken a seat and Dekker was sitting opposite of him on Jayden's stool. Between the two men, the girls noticed Scruffy bouncing around, overjoyed at the new face in the house. He wasn't much of a guard dog at this point.

"She won't have to wait long," Mia squeezed Emily comfortingly as she led the smaller girl inside, "C'mon. Let's go hear what Dekker has to say. It's not like we've got any other leads to finding Serena."

"What about the guys?" Emily asked.

Mia sighed, "Leave them… just in case Dekker's up to something, we need a backup. If he is double-crossing us, we'll be ready."

"I don't like this," Emily whispered. Mia nodded her head.

"You're not alone."


	155. The Other Half Nighlok

Antonio collapsed onto a park bench. In the past, he had worked himself until his body gave in, and he had worked himself until he vomited, but tonight he was exhausted in a whole new way. Searching for Serena, fearing for her life, and feeling guilty for not trusting her and leaving her on her own was really taking a toll on him as well as the other boys, and the longer it took to find her, the more frustrated they all grew, and the more energy it took to keep working.

"We're chasing our tails," he huffed. "You guys do realise that we can search all night for her and still come up with no leads."

"And if a Nighlok were to attack right now, we'd be too exhausted to fight," Jayden pointed out as he nodded his head in agreement with Antonio. "Whatever Dekker wanted from Serena, he's probably got it by now. All we can do is wait for him to show himself."

"We can't just sit around," Kevin argued, which surprised the other three boys. Normally he always went along with whatever Jayden said. But he had been the first to accuse Serena of being disloyal to the Rangers, and now he felt like it was partially his fault she was hurt. If Dekker really had taken her, and if he hurt her, it was because the Rangers had given him the chance by turning away from Serena and leaving her to fend for herself. If something happened to her, Kevin wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He glared at Jayden and Antonio, "Dekker may be good, but that's never stopped us before. Serena's probably counting on us…"

"We didn't exactly leave her on good terms, though," Mike pointed out, remembering their encounter in the park. He had noticed the look of shock on Serena's face when Emily ran away from her and he could only assume that she took Emily's distrust hard. "She probably thinks we think this is a scam…"

"What if it is?" Antonio asked. He sat up on the bench and looked at his friends, "What if Dekker and Serena are just playing us…"

"Mia got a call from the other Guardians," Mike shook his head, "If they're worried about her, so am I."

"Those men have been part of the Samurai for generations," Kevin nodded. "They want to protect the Gate. If they say something's happened to Serena and she needs our help, I trust we're doing the right thing."

"But if Dekker's been living with Serena, he's been with them…" Antonio was cut off when Mike grabbed him by the shirt and shoved him roughly into the back of the park bench. The green Ranger glared at the gold.

"Shut up," he growled, "Not trusting Serena is probably the reason she's in this mess, and whether it's a scam or not, she's still Emily's sister. She's our sister. That's reason enough to help."

"Mike's right," Kevin nodded, though he was trying to peel Mike off Antonio. "We have to help her, if not for Serena, than for Emily."

Jayden ran his hands through his hair and sighed. He turned to Antonio, "You've been with us long enough to know Mike and Kevin don't get along, right?"

Antonio nodded, "Yeah."

Jayden shrugged his shoulders, "Well… I'm suspicious too. This could be a scam. But if Mike and Kevin are agreeing on something, it's probably worth believing them. Besides, the last thing I want is a dead Samurai. I don't like the idea of possibly walking into a trap, but I'm willing to take the risk if it means keeping as many people alive as possible."

Antonio nodded and got up off the bench. He stretched slightly before looking around.

"Alright. Who's up for la búsqueda: la segunda parte?"

"What?" Mike frowned.

"The search: part two," Antonio laughed. He thought after so many months the Rangers would have picked up on a little bit of Spanish. Apparently not.

-Samurai-

When Serena woke up she had no idea where she was, but she was just happy to still be alive. As the sleepy daze started to clear, she looked around at her surroundings. She on the floor of a small, dark, empty room with no windows and only one door. The only light in the room came from a candle placed carelessly on the floor. Thankfully, the hard, cold ground didn't seem like it would catch fire anytime soon, though Serena was almost certain that if a fire did start, her captor wouldn't come in to save her.

Serena could feel her arms were lifted over her head, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that they were bound that way. The fact that she couldn't move her hands helped a lot in that assessment. When she wiggled her arms to see if maybe she had some leeway to work with, she heard chains rattling. Finally, she looked up and groaned. She wasn't tied with a rope, but bound by chains. At this point, she was certain only Urumasa could save her, and that was if Dekker was looking for her.

She kicked herself mentally. Of course he was looking for her. He had all but professed his love for her only moments before she was attacked. Unless he was trying to trick her, he would do anything to keep her safe.

Serena knew it was useless to struggle, but there was nothing else to do, and she didn't want to give into captivity this easily. She glared up at her chains and tried to squirm her hands free. It was futile, but she needed to do something.

She only got a few minutes of struggle time before the door suddenly opened and a figure walked in. Serena couldn't make out who it was right away, but given the oddly shaped body she could only assume it was a Nighlok, and given the voice of her captor back at the Tengen Gate, she could also assume the Nighlok was female.

"You realise I'm not a Samurai, right?" she said as the Nighlok stood over her and looked down, making Serena very nervous. "If you're looking for the Rangers, though, you can kiss my ass."

"I got what I wanted," the Nighlok smirked. Serena glanced up and recognised the face, but she couldn't quite put a name on it yet. She knew, though, that the Nighlok worked for Master Xandred. Her mother had told her about Master Xandred's allies when she was still training to be the yellow Ranger.

"So, what does Xandred want with me?" Serena asked. "Am I going to be an evil Ranger? You know, that's kind of cool, when you think about it. They blow stuff up, and at the end of the day they don't get blamed for a damn thing."

The Nighlok knelt down before Serena, "I saw you with Dekker."

"So?" Serena frowned. "The fact that he and I live together isn't exactly a secret… wait, why does Xandred care about Dekker."

"He doesn't," the Nighlok said. "I'm not following orders from Master Xandred. This is my own vendetta."

"Vendetta? We've never met! What could I have done to piss you off? Aside from the whole Samurai vs. Nighlok thing, I mean. You know, I take it personally that you would single me…"

"Shut up!" the Nighlok roared, smashing her fist into the side of Serena's face. The chains rattled as Serena was thrown slightly to the side. The Nighlok grabbed her roughly and pulled her back so they were face to face.

"Ow…" Serena whined, glaring at the Nighlok. She was sure that blow was going to leave its mark.

"It seems like time with Dekker has made you a little over-confident when it comes to the Nighlok. You know, we don't take kindly to your sarcastic remarks."

"Worked with Dekker," Serena said, but instantly regretted it when she felt the Nighlok hitting her again, this time with even more power.

"Do not speak of Dekker like you know him," the Nighlok screamed. "Only I know him."

"I've been living with him," Serena said. "I think I know him pretty well at this point, all things…"

She was cut off by another beating from the Nighlok. When it stopped, the Nighlok grabbed her face and pull it in close.

"I would choose my words wisely if I were you," she growled. "You haven't long to live, and the more you anger me, the shorter the time."

"I'm sensing jealousy," Serena said. "You've got a thing for him, don't you?"

"Shut up!" the Nighlok drove her fist into Serena's ribs, trying to get her prisoner to submit.

As Serena doubled over in pain (as much as she could, given the position she was in), she realised she was right. She couldn't mention Dekker without angering the Nighlok. And slowly it occurred to Serena just how much this Nighlok seemed to care for Dekker, in whatever twisted way that was.

Suddenly, another thought hit Serena and she looked up, "Wait a minute… Nighlok don't feel… they don't fall in… you're not a full Nighlok, are you?"

"I don't know what you're…"

"You're half human!" Serena cried and she was suddenly driven into the wall behind her. Just as everything started to make sense to Serena, her world faded to black; a scream her final breath before giving into the pain.


	156. Dekker and the Girls

To say Dekker felt uncomfortable was an understatement. He was sitting in the red Ranger's home with the Samurai Mentor by his side, a friendly puppy at his feet, and his love interest's little sister glaring hatefully at him. At least if Serena weren't missing he would be feeling a little less vulnerable, but her situation had him worried and he was not powerful when he was worried.

"You have your sister's eyes," he told Emily. He couldn't help but notice the resemblance between the two when she glared at him. It was exactly the same look as Serena's when she was angry.

"Shut up," Mia growled, pulling Emily in closer. She couldn't trust Dekker.

"Would it be safe to assume Master Xandred is behind Serena's disappearance?" Mentor Ji asked Dekker. "I doubt Serena has made many enemies. If you aren't responsible for what happened to her…"

Dekker shook his head. He wanted to believe it was Xandred who had Serena, but that would have meant that the Master, or at least a faithful Nighlok, would have been in the Tengen Gate, and aside from the kitchen, nowhere else had been touched by a Nighlok. The Tengen Gate was full of secrets that Master Xandred could use to his advantage against the Rangers.

"It could be more complicated than that," he said.

"Uncomplicate it, then," Mia demanded. "If you know anything…"

"I know no more than you," Dekker sighed.

"Bullshit," Mia spat, rolling her eyes. "You were there when Serena was taken. You've been living with her. I'm not completely convinced that you have nothing to do with her sudden disappearance."

"Would I have come to…?"

"Yes," Mia growled without letting Dekker finish his sentence. She nodded her head, "You've always got some kind of plan brewing in that head of yours. Plans that usually put my friends in danger! You kidnapped my boyfriend, beat up my little sister and you want to kill my leader! How many more of my friends do you think I'll let you hurt?"

"Right now, my only desire is to find Serena," Dekker said. "I will even put my duel with the red Ranger on hold until she is back where she belongs."

"Not good enough," Mia shook her head. She let go of Emily and got to her feet. She placed herself between Dekker and Emily and Mentor and held out her hand. "I want your sword."

"What?" Dekker frowned. Urumasa was his sword. In all his life he hand never given it up to anyone but Serena.

"You heard me," Mia said. "It's insurance. As long as you want to play this game, I have to know my friends are safe. Give me Uru-what's-it-called."

"Urumasa…" Dekker sighed as he pulled out his sword and gazed at it longingly. He needed the Rangers' helps, but for obvious reasons they weren't willing to trust him. Still, he couldn't afford to argue with them when he had no clue where Serena was or how much danger she was in. If he wanted to find her, he needed the Rangers on his side. He handed it to Mia, "I want it back, though."

"We'll see," Mia passed the sword over to Mentor Ji. "If any of my friends get hurt, you'll never see that stupid chuck of metal again."

Mentor held the sword tightly in his hand as he got up to put it away safely. Dekker watched Mentor take off with his precious blade and clenched his fists.

"What if I need it?" he asked. "You cannot expect me to…"

"You're the world's best warrior, aren't you?" Mia growled. "You'll figure it out. Now, where is Serena?"

"I do not know," Dekker shrugged. Mia shook her head.

"Not good enough…"

"Mia…" Emily muttered. She reached out and grabbed the pink Ranger's hand, "Maybe he really doesn't know…"

"He has to know something," Mia said. "We'll never find Serena if we're just looking around the city for her. If he wants to help, he's going to start by telling us all he knows."

Dekker lowered his gaze and looked at the floor, "There was blood when she disappeared. Not a lot, but I'm sure it was hers. That means whoever took her overpowered her."

"No shit, Sherlock," Mia rolled her eyes. "I doubt she just walked away…"

"Serena's a good Samurai," Dekker said, "She's only twenty-four and she's already mastered so many skills that most Samurai spend a lifetime trying to master, and all her training with me has only made her better. I wouldn't be surprised if she was better than the red Ranger… Fortunately for me, Urumasa has already chosen its opponent."

"So, she's good," Mia shrugged and glanced at Emily, "That's not news. We all knew that."

"It would take someone powerful to take her out that quickly. Someone more powerful than your everyday Nighlok."

"Like who?" Mia asked. "Are you saying Master Xandred or Squid face…?"

"No, I doubt it was them," Dekker shook his head. "They would have stormed the Temple. They would have done as much damage as possible. It would be someone else. Someone with a vendetta against Serena."

"No one hates my sister," Emily muttered so softly that Dekker could barely hear her. "No one ever has. And it's not like Master Xandred knows or cares about her, right?"

"Maybe it's someone who hates you?" Mia suggested and turned to Dekker. "You've been spending a hell of a lot of time with Serena. Why wouldn't someone use her to get to you? She's not some mad immortal warrior. She can get hurt, and if you're as close to her as I think you are then her pain would hurt you too."

"I do not know of anyone who would want to see me suffer," Dekker replied. "I have killed all my enemies but six, and I doubt you Samurai have kidnapped one of your own."

"Who else is in the Netherworld?" Mia asked. "It can't just be Squid Face and Xandred. I remember one more…"

"Dayu," Dekker answered. "She is a fierce Nighlok in her own right."

"She was the one kidnapping all the brides," Mia nodded her head, remembering the day that was now so far away.

"Why would Dayu go after Serena?" Emily asked. Mia shrugged before turning back to Dekker.

"Maybe you should pay the Netherworld a visit?" she suggested. "See if there are any Nighlok missing from the river. If someone's not on that boat…"

"They cannot stay in this world for long," Dekker sighed. "They are trapped in the river. If any of the Nighlok had Serena, she would be long dead by now. They would have killed her, or taken her back to the Sanzu River…"

"But Dayu spent a couple of days kidnapping brides," Mia pointed out. "She had her own little warehouse set up and everything. She couldn't have been traveling back and forth… she wouldn't have had the time."

Dekker stroked his chin, "It might be time I pay Dayu another visit. She does seem rather… fond of me. If she doesn't know where Serena is, maybe I can persuade her to help us search."

"We're coming with you," Mia stated and she turned to Emily for support. The yellow Ranger nodded nervously.

"It is too dangerous," Dekker shook his head, "especially if you insist on keeping Urumasa out of my hands…"

"In case you forgot, Serena's part of _our_ family," Mia reminded Dekker. "We care enough about her to take those risks. And we'll have the boys for backup if you double-cross us. A few hours without contact and they'll start to worry about us."

"So, we're off to find Dayu?" Dekker asked. "Where did she make her hideout last time? It might be wise to start there."

"I remember," Mia nodded. She gestured to the door, "You step outside. We'll be right out. Stay in front of the window, though. I want to keep my eye on you."

Dekker did as he was told and stepped out the door. He made his way over to the window and stood in front of it so Mia and Emily could see him.

When Mia saw Dekker doing as he was told she smiled softly and then turned to Emily, "Are you okay with this plan? I know he scares you…"

"I just want to know where Serena is," Emily nodded. "I'll do anything to find her."

"I know," Mia agreed. She took Emily's hand and helped her off the stool. "I don't like him, but so far Dekker doesn't seem as creepy as he normally is. If Serena's actually got him on a leash, we might not have to worry about him."

"You mean he might actually have a thing for my sister?" Emily frowned. She stuck out her tongue in disgust, "If that's true, I have the worst in-laws."

"Depends on how Serena feels," Mia laughed. "Now let's go find her, shall we?"

"Yeah," Emily nodded before pulling out her phone. She wanted to leave her Samuraizer behind so Mike would know to come find her, but she was afraid she might need it. Instead, she left a message for him on her phone and she placed it on his stool so he would see it when he got home. She turned to Mia. "Just so they know where to find us. We'll have enough of a head start, though."

"Good thinking," Mia smiled. She wrapped her arm around Emily's shoulder and guided her to the door.


	157. Storming In

"Long day…" Kevin muttered. He dragged his feet across the hardwood as he walked to the common room. He felt worse than he should of, even after spending all day searching for Serena and Dekker. He and the boys had come up empty. They had no leads, no clues, and they definitely didn't have Serena, "We're tired, and we've got nothing to show for our efforts."

"I'm going to bed," Antonio started his way to his room, "I don't think I can bear to look at Emily when we tell her we found nothing."

"She might already be sleeping," Jayden stated. He hoped that maybe he and the other boys could get a few hours of rest before heading out and searching again. He was thinking that maybe, with a little luck, they could be out of the house before Emily could find out they had come home. He noticed Kevin was shaking his head though.

"Mia and Emily's bedroom door is wide open," he said. This was unusual. If the girls were home and they were sleeping, the door would be closed so nothing could disturb them. Even if only Emily was asleep in her bed, Mia would close the door so any noise she made wouldn't easily wake the yellow Ranger. Kevin frowned, "Something's not right."

"The girls have gone," the boys heard Mentor's voice and they turned to find him coming inside from the backyard. Quickly, they noticed he was carrying Dekker's sword in his hand. Mike pointed to the weapon.

"Where did you get that?"

Mentor gestured to the common room and Mike's eyes fell on his stool. He noticed Emily's phone and raced over to grab it. He flipped it open and quickly read the message inside. He felt his entire world shatter around him as he finished reading and he turned to Mentor, fuming with rage.

"You let them leave with him?" he shouted.

Kevin quickly put the pieces together. The girls were gone, Mentor was holding Urumasa, and Mike wasn't happy.

"Wait, Dekker was here?"

"He too was searching for Serena," Mentor nodded. "He is worried…"

"I don't give a fuck how Dekker feels," Mike screamed and stepped forward. Jayden and Antonio grabbed his arms, afraid he was going to lunge at Mentor for letting the girls take off. "Whatever he did to Serena he'll do to Emily and Mia."

"He has done nothing…"

"Screw you, Mentor," Mike pulled free from Antonio and Jayden and paced the room. As much as he wanted to hurt Mentor he knew that wouldn't help him at all. If there was anytime where he needed to focus and remain calm, it was now.

Kevin turned to Mentor. He knew what was going on but he couldn't believe it.

"You just let him take off with them?" he asked. "Dekker was here and… why didn't you call? We could have…"

"The girls will need you in the shadows," Mentor said. "They've put their faith in Dekker for now, but they don't trust him completely. If anything goes wrong, you'll need to be at the ready."

"No shit," Mike growled. He grabbed his jacket and made his way towards the door. "I'm not waiting for something to go wrong. I'm going to find them…"

"Mike," Kevin called. Mike stopped dead in his tracks and turned to the blue Ranger.

"Kevin, nothing you can say will stop me from…"

He trailed off when he saw Kevin grabbing his jacket. The blue Ranger slid it on quickly and nodded.

"I'm coming with you."

"Guys," Jayden sighed. "We can't all just run in there and…"

"Then stay behind," Kevin shrugged. He pointed to himself and Mike, "We're not leaving the girls alone with that creep. We don't trust him. Neither should they."

"You should trust the girls, though," Antonio said. It was foolish to all run after Dekker, Mia and Emily, especially if Dekker was double-crossing them. They all needed to sit down and take a few moments to come up with a plan. "They may have thought this through…"

"Emily wouldn't have thought anything through," Mike shook his head. "Serena's in danger. She'll do anything to save her…"

"Mia knows that," Kevin added, "and she wouldn't let Emily go alone. She wouldn't care about her own safety as long as she thinks she can help Emily and Serena."

"But…"

"Stay behind if you're both too chicken," Mike growled to his leader. "I guess you're only fearless when it doesn't matter."

"Mike, Kevin," Jayden called their names in hopes that they would listen to him but the two boys took off in search for their girlfriends. Antonio placed a hand on Jayden's shoulder and sighed loudly.

"Looks like we're the brains of this operation," he whispered. Jayden turned around and sighed. He caught sight of Urumasa once more and ripped it from Mentor's hands.

"We're not going to stay behind," he said.

"I never said we would," Antonio shrugged. "How long are we going to wait?"

Jayden balanced Urumasa in his hands. It felt weird knowing this would one day be the sword that might take his life, and he was holding it in his very hands.

"Dekker would never give up Urumasa," he said. "That's got to mean something… We'll show up when we're needed."

-Samurai-

"This is it?" Dekker asked, turning to Mia and Emily as the three of them crouched behind a rock only a little ways away from Dayu's hideout, all hoping it was still where she would choose to spend her days away from the Sanzu River.

"I'm positive," Mia answered and Emily nodded.

Dekker smirked and glanced at the small building, "Well, hopefully Dayu's in there."

"And if she isn't?" Emily asked weakly. "What would that mean for my sister?"

"Let's cross that bridge when we get there," Mia suggested and she placed one hand on Emily's back comfortingly. She turned to Dekker, "So, how is this going to go down? Should we all go in there…?"

Dekker shook his head, "The yellow Ranger and I…"

"As if," Mia interrupted, dismissing his plan entirely before he could say it. She wasn't going to leave Emily alone with Dekker.

"If Dayu has her sister I can play it off like I thought she was searching for the yellow Ranger…"

"No way," Mia argued. "For all I know you've already kidnapped one of the sisters. Do you really think I'm going to hand the other one over?"

"Maybe we should ask her," Dekker growled. He shifted his gaze onto Emily, "Do you…?"

Emily quickly shook her head and hid behind Mia, choosing to trust her Ranger sister over Dekker. No plan was much better than anything Dekker could come up with.

Dekker growled, "Fine," he pushed himself up, "then I will go in there myself. If either of you feel like helping, you are free to join."

"Dekker!" Mia whispered as the warrior started to make his way into the building.

"We can't let him go," Emily said to Mia. The girls watched as Dekker made his way inside the building. "If he did take my sister…"

"He won't hurt her," Mia promised while jumping up to her feet. She pulled Emily up and gestured to the house, "Hurry, before he gets too far."

-Samurai-

Inside her little room, Serena was finally coming too after what felt like a lifetime. Her head throbbed along with the rest of her body, and even with her chains holding her up she could barely keep herself from giving in completely and letting herself hit the ground. She was slumped forward and breathing heavily.

In a corner, Dayu was laughing to herself as she watched the beaten Serena suffer. She admired her work, knowing that it served not only as a way to ensure she kept Dekker to herself, but it would please Master Xandred as well. The Sanzu River was surely rising. It had been a while since she had snatched Serena and she was positive the Rangers would have heard about their missing friend by now. If Serena's tears and suffering weren't enough to help the river, the Rangers were surely filling the gap, if not overflowing it.

"You look shameful," she told Serena as a Mooger stepped into the room and approached her. He whispered something in her ear which caused Dayu to perk up. The half-Nighlok then approached Serena and grabbed her face, digging into Serena's skin with her nails. "I knew he would come for me."

She threw Serena into the wall and watched as the chains dragged Serena back into place. Serena didn't make a sound as she was tossed around viciously. She couldn't even bring herself to cry out in pain anymore. All her energy was spent trying not to die, even if her mind was telling her that life was no longer worth it.

Dayu laughed once more before leaving the room. She stepped out into a bigger, brighter room and her eyes fell on the doorway. There, Dekker stood, looking as strong and powerful as ever.

"I knew you would come," she smiled. "I wish I had had the chance to leave you a clue, but there were so many…"

"Where is she?" Dekker demanded. He didn't have time to play Dayu's game. He was here for one thing and one thing only.

"I know you do not remember, but there has to be a part of you that knows…"

"Serena," Dekker said. "The yellow Ranger's sister. She was taken from me. Do you know where she is?"

"Does it matter?" Dayu asked. She pointed to a set of chairs in the middle of the room and invited Dekker to sit, "Come, talk with me. Maybe I can help you…"

"I do not wish to remember my past," Dekker growled. "If you know where Serena is then I demand you tell me."

"She'll be dead soon anyways," Dayu said, "I wouldn't waste my time with her anymore."

Dekker breathed heavily and wished the pink Ranger has let him keep Urumasa. He wouldn't Kill Dayu with it, but it would get her to give him some answers. Still, he wasn't going to hold back just because he was missing his trusted weapon. He lunged forward, grabbing Dayu by the neck and slamming her into a few large crates.

"Where is she?" he roared.

Dayu struggled in his hold, surprised he would attack her. For just a moment, her eyes strayed to the door where she had entered the room from. Dekker noticed this and turned to the door. He let go of Dayu slowly and began to make his way over.

"Is she in there?" he asked. Dayu shook her head.

"She will never understand you, Dekker. She is unlike us!"

But Dekker didn't stop. He was getting closer and closer to the door. Finally, Dayu had to make the call. She snapped her fingers and the Moogers charged forward, grabbing Dekker and holding him back.

While Dekker tried to fight him off, Mia and Emily stormed into the building. When Dayu saw them she screamed in frustration.

"Rangers?" she shrieked as she was attacked by enraged pink and yellow blurs. Mia and Emily got the few first blows in and managed to knock Dayu back a few paces before Dayu's initial shock wore off and she was able to fight back. To counter the Rangers' swords, she picked up a lead pipe. She had grabbed it just in time, too, and managed to save herself from being sliced into three by Mia and Emily. While the girls staggered backwards from Dayu's sudden defense, Dayu took the advantage and pulled small explosives from her bag. She threw them at the girls. Unfortunately for Dayu, they jumped out of the way in time to avoid a quick death, but they didn't get far. They were left without their Ranger suits to protect them as they rolled on the ground in pain.

Dekker finished off the last of the Moogers with ease and turned to see Emily and Mia struggling with Dayu. He glanced at the door keeping him from Serena, and then back to the girls. Dayu was moving in closer to them. Too close for comfort, as they didn't seem ready to begin round two.

Dekker sighed loudly and charged forward, scooping up one of the girls' fallen swords from the ground as he raced by it and he used it to swipe at Dayu. The force of his slash sent her soaring backwards into a mountain of crates which shattered under her weight as she landed on top of them.

Dropping the sword, Dekker didn't turn to the girls to see if they were okay. Instead, he darted back over to the door and blew his way through, not bothering to see if the door was unlocked or not. He knew he had very little time and he couldn't waste even a few seconds turning the doorknob.


	158. Safe But Not Saved

"Hurry up!" Kevin called to Mike as he leaped over a rock and dashed over to a seemingly abandoned building. "Both their signals are coming from in there."

"You're fast!" Mike answered back, running as fast as his legs would carry him. His speed practically doubled when he heard an explosion coming from the building. If Emily and Mia were inside, that wasn't a good sound. He passed Kevin just as they reached the building and he stormed inside. He saw Dekker disappearing into one of the back room, but he ignored that as his eyes scanned the scene for Emily or Mia.

He spotted them both on the ground, struggling to get back to their feet.

"Emily!" he called as he dashed over and skidded to a stop next to her. He dropped to his knees and pulled her up in his arms. Kevin was right behind him, doing the same with Mia.

"Are you okay?" Kevin asked his girlfriend. Mia nodded her head. She was sore, but for the most part she was still fine. She reached for the gold medal inside her shirt.

"It's still in one piece," she smirked.

Kevin let out a sigh of relief when he saw Mia's smile and he pulled her into a tight hug. "I don't care about the medal…"

"What the hell were you thinking?" Mike screamed to Emily, so consumed with fear he didn't know how to react. "You took off with Dekker! Of all people, you put your faith in him?"

Emily nestled into his arms and buried her face in his shoulder, "I'm sorry…"

Mike relaxed when he heard this. He sighed deeply and pushed his anger and fear aside as he squeezed her.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Emily shook her head.

"Serena…"

"Where is she?" Mike searched the room, "Is she here?"

"Hopefully not anymore," Dayu pulled herself from the rubble and dusted herself off as she stood on her feet and glared at the Rangers. "That bitch has caused me enough trouble."

"You took her?" Mike growled. He and Kevin slowly got up and stood before their girlfriends protectively. "What do you have against her?"

"None of your business, green Ranger," Dayu hissed. "It's between Dekker and myself. She had the nerve to get in the way."

"You made it my business when you kidnapped her!" Mike roared. He pulled out his Samuraizer. Kevin did the same. Dayu laughed.

"Only two of you?" she asked. "Do you not see what I did to those pathetic girls?"

"Four on one, Dayu," Jayden's voice came from behind Mike and Kevin and the two boys turned to see him and Antonio coming to the rescue. The red and gold Rangers stood by their side, with Urumasa in Jayden's hand. "Is this little plan of yours worth the trouble now? Run back to the Netherworld, before you really piss us off."

"Yeah!" Antonio nodded, "We'll chop you up into tiny pieces with that massive sword in our hands."

Jayden turned to Antonio and rolled his eyes behind his helmet, "Don't help."

Antonio shrugged, "What?"

Dayu's gaze shifted from the Rangers to the door. All she wanted was Dekker and now she had the Samurai Rangers as well. She couldn't continue with her plan with them lurking about. She was going to have to try again some other time, when they were out of the way.

She eyed the Rangers hatefully, "Consider yourselves lucky. I'm bored with this."

She turned her back to the Rangers and suddenly disappeared into a portal. Jayden and Antonio powered down and turned to the rest of the team.

"Chicken, huh?" Jayden smirked.

"Yeah, fine, whatever. I take it back," Mike nodded dismissively as he gently pulled Emily to her feet now that the danger was gone. Kevin did the same with Mia, but held her protectively when she was up, whereas Mike knew Emily wouldn't be able to stand still. Serena was still missing.

When the yellow Ranger was back on her feet she ran (or hobbled) to the back room, hoping to find her sister. The room was poorly lit and Emily could barely see, but she could make out Dekker's kneeling form.

"Get away from her," she growled to Dekker, assuming he was only on his knees because he had found Serena. Dekker lifted his head and looked over his shoulder at Emily.

"I do not want to harm her," he tried to promise her but Emily wouldn't have it.

"Get away," she said. Dekker sighed and did as he was told. He stood up and backed away slowly, allowing Emily to see the damage Dayu had done.

Emily gasped and Mike and the others arrived just in time to catch her as her knees buckled.

"Is she dead?" Kevin needed to ask because he couldn't tell. Serena was slumped forward with only her chains to hold up her battered body.

Mia glanced at Urumasa in Jayden's hands before snatching it and making her way over to Serena and Dekker. She had seen the sword slice through a boulder like it was warm butter; she was positive it would cut the chains. Surely enough it did, and Dekker didn't fail to catch Serena before she hit the ground. He pulled the rest of the chains from her wrists and held her close.

"Let her go!" Emily screamed. Dekker looked at her but didn't release Serena.

Jayden growled, "Do as she says. You're not off the hook yet. None of us trust you."

Dekker sighed and nodded. He picked up Serena and walked over to Jayden. Carefully he handed the eldest Samurai over. He then turned to Mia and held out his hand, "Urumasa."

"No way," Mia shook her head, "I never promised I would give it back. Besides, Serena's hurt. You remember the deal."

"I'm not leaving until I at least have Urumasa," Dekker frowned. He took a step towards her but Kevin and Antonio quickly got in the way.

"Get any closer to her and I'll make sure you never see that sword again," Kevin threatened. Dekker crossed his arms over his chest.

"I will not leave without my sword."

"And he won't duel without it either," Jayden said. He glared at Dekker, "You'll be coming home with us then."

"Don't even think of stealing the sword back," Mia added. "Besides, if you really do care about Serena, you wouldn't even think about taking off until you know she's okay."

"We should get her back to Mentor," Antonio suggested. "She probably won't wait long."

Mike wrapped his arms around Emily as the others started to leave. He kissed her gently as he held her.

"She'll be fine," he whispered into her ear. "I know she will."

"But she's…"

"She's your sister," Mike smiled, "That's why I know she'll make it."

"I'm scared," Emily buried her face in Mike's chest as she started to sob. He held her close and when Antonio looked at them to see if they were coming he signalled for him to head out without them. Antonio nodded sadly and followed the rest of the group.

When they were alone Mike kissed the top of Emily's head and squeezed her.

"It'll be okay."


	159. She Can Hear Us

Dekker paced back and forth outside the girls' bedroom door as Mentor Ji tended to a very injured Serena. He had concluded that she was still alive, but no one knew for how long. Mentor was trying to do the best he could to keep her from giving in, but Serena's body wasn't as strong as anyone had hoped. Years of fighting a losing battle with a deadly virus had left her weak and without much fight left.

Emily was also inside the room. She refused to leave her sister's side until she knew for sure what was going to happen. If Serena was going to wake up, Emily wanted to be there when she did. If she was going to die, Emily wanted to be there to hold her hand and comfort her. The other Rangers and Mentor respected her wishes, but went inside to visit every once in a while. Even before they had met Serena they had formed an attachment to her because of how much Emily spoke of her sister. After they had met her and spent time with her, they all felt like she was part of their little family. Watching her suffer hurt just as much as watching any of the other Rangers suffer.

Dekker wanted to go inside the room and be with Serena. He had strong feelings for her, feelings he couldn't deny. While people were trying to get him to say it was love, he wasn't sure. He couldn't remember ever falling in love with anyone, so he couldn't tell if his feelings were love. All he knew was that he wanted to be with Serena, yet no one trusted him enough to allow him the time he needed.

He glanced down the hall to the common room, where most of the Rangers were talking. He had been invited into their home, but they were all being very careful in his presence. They rarely spoke when he was in the room, and when they did they avoided talking strategy and their personal lives. He didn't really care, though. Right now, he didn't want to hurt them. He didn't want to fight. He wanted Serena.

Mike walked up to him, a sandwich in hand. He took a bite out of it as he glared at the older man.

"So…" he started through a mouthful of bread. Dekker turned to him, slightly disgusted.

"Leave me…"

"You and I have some serious talking to do," Mike shook his head.

"I am not after the yellow Ranger," Dekker sighed.

Again, Mike shook his head, "See, that's where you're wrong. Whatever you do to Serena affects Emily. So your little crush on my girlfriend's sister is putting Emily in a difficult position. She's feeling threatened. Do you know what happens when Emily feels threatened?"

Dekker shrugged his shoulders, "She hides."

Mike chuckled sarcastically before lunging at Dekker and pinning him into the wall. A few of the pictures that hung shook slightly as Dekker's back hit the wall. Mike glared up at the warrior, eyes full of rage and hate.

"Emily doesn't have much," Mike growled. "Her sister is her entire world. I don't care if you had nothing to do with her kidnapping, you're still to blame. If anything happens to Serena, I'll come after you personally."

"You don't threaten me," Dekker scoffed.

Mike eyed the warrior, "If Serena lives, you better be honest with her. You're not going to fuck around with Serena. If you plan on stabbing her in the back or using her, then you better walk away right now."

Mike released Dekker and stepped out of the way so the warrior could make his decision. Dekker looked at Mike but remained completely still. He never wanted to hurt Serena. He wanted to be with her, especially in her time of need.

When Mike saw Dekker wasn't going anywhere he laughed and rolled his eyes.

"You're a piece of work, Dekker…"

"Who do you think you are," Dekker shook his head. "What happens between Serena and I…"

"If you hurt her, you'll have me, Emily, and all the other Rangers to deal with," Mike growled. "I can't tell you how you feel, but if you really do love her; you better take care of her and her family."

"I…"

"Don't fuck around with her," Mike repeated. He shoved Dekker into the wall once more as Mia walked down the hall. She didn't react when she saw Mike pushing Dekker around. She ignored it and walked past the boys.

"I'm going to bed," she pointed to her bedroom door as she looked at Mike and glared at Dekker.

"Let us know if Serena wakes up at all tonight," Mike nodded. "I don't care if it's 3:00 AM. I want to know the minute her eyes open."

"I promise," Mia smiled. She turned to Dekker, "Jayden and Antonio are setting up a tent for you outside. We don't trust you enough to sleep inside the house yet."

Dekker clenched his fists in frustration. He wanted to be with Serena in case she woke up, but the Rangers were kicking him out of the house. He understood they wanted to be safe, he just wished they would understand that he meant them no harm in this moment.

"Wake me if Serena…"

"You won't get that luxury," Mia shook her head and gestured for Dekker to head to head outside to his tent. "And by the way, don't even bother looking for Urumasa."

Dekker nodded his head and walked off, all while trying to contain his anger. He wouldn't hurt the Rangers right now, not with Serena still in danger, but when the time did come to killing them, the pink Ranger would definitely be the first.

Mia turned to Mike when Dekker was gone. She reached out and touched his arm gently, "Are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that," Mike smirked. He looked at the bruises on her face and arms, "Are you sure you're fine?"

"Don't tell Kevin, but I kind of want to collapse and never get up again," Mia sighed. "Dayu sure likes blowing people up, huh?"

"If you need anything…"

"I'll ask Kevin," Mia laughed. Mike chuckled as well and shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, right. Well, if for some reason Kevin can't or won't help, don't hesitate to ask me."

"Thanks, Mike," Mia smiled. Mike nodded his head and turned away, letting Mia go inside her room so she could get some much needed rest.

The room was dark when Mia walked in. A night light had been plugged in by Emily's bed in case there were any midnight emergencies, but all the other lights had been turned off. Mentor was sitting by Emily's bed, fast asleep in his chair after working long and hard trying to tend to Serena's injuries. Serena was unconscious and laying in Emily's bed, surrounded by various beeping machines that were sure to haunt Mia in her nightmares during the night.

Mia spotted Emily sitting on the edge of her bed and sighed. With Serena in Emily's bed, the yellow Ranger had nowhere to sleep. Mia noticed Mentor had pulled in a few stools from the common room, thinking maybe Emily would use them as a temporary bed while Serena took hers, but Mia thought otherwise. Emily couldn't be by herself when she was scared. She needed to know someone was there with her.

Mia didn't say anything to Emily as she found her pyjamas in the dark and got changed. The yellow Ranger was so focused on Serena she likely didn't notice Mia anyways. When Mia was ready for bed she took a seat beside her best friend.

"Did Mentor tell you anything?" she asked. Emily nodded her head and wiped away a few tears.

"He said it wasn't good. He said she could die… and the longer she sleeps, the bigger the risk."

"She's not sleeping though, is she?" Mia asked gently. Emily shook her head.

"Dayu really hurt her," she whispered. "I've never seen her like this… and she was sick for years. I'm scared."

Mia wrapped her arms around Emily, "I'm scared too."

The pink Ranger glanced across the room at Serena and felt a tear roll down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly before Emily saw it and nudged the yellow Ranger.

"Have you spoken to her?" she asked. Emily shook her head.

"I can't… I don't know what to say…"

"Tell her she's okay," Mia smiled. "The rest will come to you."

"I can't, Mia," Emily shook her head and buried herself in Mia's arms. The pink Ranger sighed and hugged her little sister before getting up. Emily whimpered, afraid Mia was going to leave, but Mia didn't go far. She walked over to Serena and, very gently, took her hand.

"In case it wasn't obvious, we all still care about you," she whispered to Serena and turned her head to Emily. The yellow Ranger got up slowly to join her sisters. Mia looked back down at Serena, "You're going to be okay, you hear me? Maybe not tomorrow, or the day after, but soon. You won't let Dayu win."

Mia smiled to her little sister as she placed Serena's hand in Emily's, "She'll probably listen to you," she said. "She's got a soft spot for you."

"I don't know what to say," Emily whispered. She shook her head and let go of Serena's hand, "I can't… I can't talk to her… I…"

"Shh," Mia hushed the yellow Ranger by pulling her into a hug. "You'll take your time, I guess. I just think it would help Serena if she knew you were here with her."

"I…" Emily stammered as Mia reached once again for Serena's hand and held it gently before passing it over to Emily. The youngest Samurai held onto her sister, afraid she would lose her if she let go. "Don't die, Serena… I… I love you."

Mia glanced down at Emily and Serena's hands. She hoped for a response but quickly realised there wasn't going to be one. Carefully, she got Emily to let go of Serena and guided the yellow Ranger to her bed.

"Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" she asked. "That way you're not alone."

"I don't think I'll be sleeping," Emily muttered. Mia pulled down her blankets and invited the yellow Ranger into her bed.

"I don't think anyone's going to be sleeping," she noticed Mentor Ji passed out in a corner, "Well, neither of us, at least. We'll stay up all night, together if we have to. I'll tell you some funny stories from when I was a kid."

"Can you tell me about the time your grandmother baked cookies for your school's bake sale?" Emily asked. That story always made her laugh. Before coming to the Shiba house, Mia had no idea she was a terrible cook. In fact, she thought she was amazing and she had learned everything from her grandmother who was no better.

"You're a sweet kid, Emy," Mia chuckled and shook her head, "It surprises me that you find two hundred people vomiting to be hilarious."

"That part isn't funny," Emily answered. "The funny part is how clueless you and your grandmother were."

"Ha-ha," Mia rolled her eyes and laid down in the bed beside Emily, hugging her close. She glanced over at Serena, "Are you listening, Serena. If you're half as twisted as your sister, you'll probably find it funny too."

"Do you think she can hear you?" Emily asked. Mia looked down at Emily and nodded her head.

"I think so," she said. "Besides, we have nothing to lose if she can't. We may as well talk to her, if not for her sake, then for ours."

"It'll drive me crazy," Emily muttered. Mia smiled.

"I was in the fourth grade," she started her story to take Emily's and her own mind off of Serena, "the teacher had just announced that the school would be holding their annual bake sale in one week and I was so excited…"


	160. Dekker Wants To Visit

Kevin knocked quietly on the girls' bedroom door and waited a quick moment to hear one of theirs or Mentor's voices. It was early morning and he was already dressed and ready for training, and he wanted to see if either of the three of them would be joining. It was doubtful they would want to train, but at the same time, Kevin figured Mia could use the distraction and Emily could use something, or someone, to take her anger out on. He really didn't expect Mentor to join, though. Someone needed to stay with Serena.

He opened the door slowly after a moment when he didn't hear any voices. Thinking everyone was still asleep he tried to be as silent as possible while he checked up on them and Serena, hoping she made it through the night.

Her machines were still beeping, which was a good sign, but she looked no better this morning than she had the night before. He let out a heavy sigh before turning to his girlfriend's bed. He saw Mia sleeping and smiled to himself. He then noticed a big lump beside his sleeping girlfriend and shook his head. He walked over and pulled the blankets down.

"Emily…"

The yellow Ranger was lying face down on her half of Mia's pillow. Kevin knew she was awake, even if he couldn't see her face, because as soon as he pulled the blankets down her hands reached for them, as if she wanted to bury herself.

"Go away," her muffled voice demanded. Kevin shook his head and sat down next to her on the bed. He placed on hand on her back.

"Did you get any sleep?"

"Go away," Emily demanded again.

"Dekker made pancakes," Kevin said. "They aren't poisoned; Jayden and Antonio watched him make them. They're actually pretty good. You should try them."

Emily shook her head, "I'm not eating his food."

"There's some cereal," Kevin offered. "You should eat something."

"No."

"Starving yourself isn't going to help Serena," Kevin said. "You didn't eat dinner last night so you're eating breakfast this morning."

"No."

"Emily…"

"No."

Kevin rolled his eyes and slid his hands under Emily. Suddenly, the yellow Ranger felt herself being lifted off Mia's bed and over Kevin's shoulder as he carried her out of the room and into the kitchen. He set her down beside the table and walked over to the cupboards to grab her a bowl and a spoon.

"I'll even let you have the sugary cereal," Kevin told her, reaching up high to grab one of the cereal boxes. "Just don't tell Jayden I'm the one who gave you extra sugar."

"I won't have to," Emily crossed her arms. She knew if she tried to run Kevin would catch her. He was much faster than she was. She took a seat at the table and buried her head in her arms, "I'm not hungry."

Kevin poured a small portion of cereal into a bowl and added milk. He walked over to the table and presented the breakfast to Emily.

"Humour me, then," he asked. Emily shook her head.

"No."

"What if I told you Dekker's offered to pair up with one of us in training this morning?" Kevin said. "We'll let you beat the living daylights out of him if you eat breakfast."

Emily lifted her head off the table, "Why would I want to spar with Dekker?" she asked Kevin. "Do you remember what happened last time Dekker and I went face to face? I barely do."

"There's obviously something going on between him and Serena," Kevin shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever that is, I doubt he'll beat up her little sister. I think you're safe."

"I'm going back to my room. I want to be with my sister," Emily got up and started making her way out of the kitchen. Kevin sighed. He grabbed her bowl of cereal and held it out to her.

"Fine, but take this," he instructed. Emily turned around and when she saw he was offering her breakfast she walked back over to him. She wasn't hungry and she wasn't in the mood to eat. She wanted to be with her sister. She wanted Serena to wake up, preferably soon. She ripped the bowl from his hands and dumped it over his head. The milk and cereal flowed down his face as she left the bowl on his head like a hat.

"No," she growled before storming off, back to her room.

Mike walked into the room from outside, wanting to see if Kevin was making any progress with getting the girls and Mentor to training. He chuckled when he saw Kevin with cereal and milk on his face and a bowl for a hat.

"Dude, what happened to you?" he laughed. "Did you miss your mouth?"

"Have you ever tried feeding Emily?" Kevin asked, lifting the bowl from his head and placing it on the table. Mike handed him a dish towel so he could dry off, "She's as stubborn as they come."

"Wait, Emily did this to you?" Mike frowned. "Dude, what did you say?"

"Nothing," Kevin shrugged. He looked at Mike, "I'm worried about her."

"She'll be fine," Mike promised. "I'll go in there and talk with her later. She's probably just scared for Serena. Things aren't looking good, you know."

"I know, I know… but Serena wouldn't like to see Emily like this. She needs to take care of herself."

Mike leaned against the counter and nodded his head, "Yeah, you're right, but… remember when Mia went all psycho on us? You didn't rest until she was better. You could have made yourself sick then. She's not going to eat if she doesn't feel hungry, and she's probably not going to come out and train. You might have a better shot with Mia."

"Mia's still sleeping," Kevin said. He tossed the wet dish cloth into the sink. "I don't want to wake her up."

"What about Mentor?"

"He's sleeping too."

"Serena?"

"Mike," Kevin growled. Mike shrugged his shoulders.

"What? I'm hoping she wakes up. There's no harm in asking."

"She's not going to wake up," Kevin said. "Not anytime soon… You know what Mentor said."

"Yeah," Mike nodded, "he said she was beat up pretty bad. It doesn't take a doctor to figure that one out. But we've all been beaten up."

"Mike, the longer she sleeps, the less likely it is she wakes up," Kevin tried to explain in a calm manner.

"Yeah, I know," Mike nodded again. "That's why I asked if she was awake. It's a valid question. All you had to say was no."

Kevin rolled his eyes, "You'll be my training partner. Right now it's hard to resist the urge to smack you."

"I'd rather you than Dekker," Mike shrugged as he led the way outside.

-Samurai-

Dekker knew he should have stayed outside with the male Rangers while they trained, but he needed to go inside and check up on Serena. They hadn't let him see her since they brought her home and he was dying to know if she was okay or not.

So, when the Rangers paired up and left him without a partner, he snuck inside and made his way to the bedrooms. He heard that Mia and Mentor were still sleeping so his only obstacle would be Emily. He hoped he could convince her to let him get close enough to Serena so he could put his mind at ease about her condition.

He opened the door without knocking or waiting for an invitation. He stepped inside and spotted Serena lying in her bed. His fists clenched in rage and his heart shattered as he walked over to her slowly.

"Serena…" he called her name softly, hoping she would open her eyes, but she didn't. She simply laid there, completely still. The only movement from her body was her chest rising and falling, and that wasn't even her own doing. There was a tube in her mouth. He had no idea what purpose it served, but he assumed it was responsible for her chest rising and falling.

As he got closer to the bed he heard a faint voice, "Get out…"

He turned and looked across the room. Emily was sitting up in a pink bed, glaring hatefully at him. He rolled his eyes and turned away from her, thinking she would be too cowardly to actually make him leave. He knew how much he terrified her and he would use that to his advantage if it meant spending time with Serena.

When he turned away she spoke again, "I said: get out."

Dekker shook his head and reached his hand out to touch Serena's. This was the last straw for Emily as she leapt from Mia's bed, morphed quickly and pulled out her sword. She swung at Dekker.

Sensing her attack, Dekker jumped out of the way but made sure Emily's swing wouldn't hurt Serena. He tried not to fight back as Emily continued her attacks on him, but he couldn't contain himself for very long. When his back hit the wall he transformed into his Nighlok form and ripped Emily's sword from her hand. He grabbed her and wrapped his arm around her neck, holding her steady until she powered down. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

"I would never harm your sister."

"You're a liar," Emily coughed. "Let me go."

"It was me who saved her. I cured her! I pulled her from the rubble! I nursed her back to health. I trained with her! I've fallen for her! You walked away from her. Why should I trust her with you?"

"Let her go, Dekker," Mentor demanded as he rose from his chair. Mia was sitting up in her bed, watching the scene in horror. Dekker relaxed slightly when he saw he and Emily were no longer alone.

"I just want time," he said. "If it weren't for me she wouldn't be here. You owe me time."

"And we will give it to you," Mentor nodded. "Let go of Emily. The girls and I will head to the kitchen for a bite to eat."

"I'm not hungry," Emily muttered. Mentor glared at her; silently telling her this wasn't a request.

Satisfied with Mentor's arrangements, Dekker let go of Emily and shoved her to the ground. He knew he wasn't going anything to earn her trust, but he wasn't trying to win her over. He wanted Serena.

Mia jumped out of bed and helped Emily back to her feet. She had to restrain the yellow Ranger when Emily tried again to attack Dekker. Mia turned to Mentor.

"We can't just…"

Mentor guided the girls to the door, "I know what I am doing, Mia."

"But…"

"I made pancakes," Dekker smirked, happy he was getting his way. He saw the angered look Emily was giving him and it made his smile grow. "You should try them. Serena showed me the recipe."

Mia wrapped her arms around Emily as Mentor closed the bedroom door, "Just imagine how good it'll feel when Jayden finally kills him in their duel."

"He won't make it to the duel if he keeps this up," Emily muttered.


	161. Serena's Dream Part I

Dekker pulled up a chair and took a seat next to Serena's bed. He took her hand in his gently and stroked it. The action was more for himself then for Serena. He wanted to know she was okay and he wouldn't be reassured until he held her in his arms. But she had so many machines surrounding her, and tubes and wires going in and out of her body that Dekker was scared holding her would only make things worse. He had to settle with taking her hand.

"I'll kill her," he muttered as he stared at her sleeping form. "Next time I see Dayu I'll kill her for what she's done to you. You're stronger than she is, though. You're stronger than this. I know you. Wake up."

Inside her head, Serena could barely hear Dekker's voice as he spoke to her. It both soothed and terrified her to know he was right next to her, holding her hand, and there was nothing she could do to defend herself.

His voice brought her to another world as she found herself leaving the darkness of her mind and she was suddenly back at the Tengen Gate. She felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her waist and pull her into a body. Looking up, she saw Dekker smiling down at her before he planted a kiss on her lips.

"Wake up, Serena," he laughed, reaching for the stove, "You're burning the pancakes."

"What?" Serena glanced down and found she was cooking breakfast. A stack of warm pancakes sat on a plate on the counter, but the one in the frying pain was burning to a crisp. Dekker pulled it away from the stove before it set off the smoke detector.

"It doesn't matter," he said to her. "It's not like Emily ever finishes what's on her plate. I'm sure you have more than enough."

He grabbed the stack of pancakes and walked to the table. He set it down and then made his way to the door. As he called Emily for breakfast, Serena opened the fridge to grab some juice, all while never taking her eyes off of Dekker.

It felt nice being with him. He was gentle with her, and sweet. She felt safe with him in the room. She knew he loved her, and she was starting to think she loved him back.

They met up at the table and Dekker gave her another kiss before pulling out her chair for her. Serena smiled and took her seat. As he pushed her closer to the table she noticed a young, curly-haired blonde child bouncing to the table. She knew, just like that, that the young girl was her daughter. With the exception of the curls, the girl looked exactly like Serena when she was younger, but she had a few of Dekker's features as well, such as his smile. The only thing the young girl inherited that didn't belong to her parents was Emily's eyes. They were exactly the same as her aunt's, which freaked Serena slightly, but in a good way.

"Sweetheart, wait for daddy to help you," Serena told the young girl as her daughter tried to pour the syrup on the pancakes herself. Her daughter, though, insisted she could do it by herself and went ahead with the task without Dekker's help. She got a few drops out of the container before dropping it and spilling syrup everywhere on the table.

Serena chuckled and shook her head. Growing up with Emily meant she was used to occurrences like this and didn't make much of it. Don't cry over spilt milk was a saying that was never overused in her house.

"Just like your Aunt," she smiled as she grabbed a few napkins and started soaking up the mess. Dekker got out of his chair and went to grab a sponge and some paper towels while Serena lifted the plates off the table before they got sticky. That was when she noticed Dekker had only set three places. She frowned and put the plates back down as she turned to her husband.

"Dekker, aren't we missing a set?"

Dekker turned to face her and shook his head, "I don't know what you mean."

"You set the table for three. Isn't Emily coming?"

"I'm right here, mommy," the young girl smiled as she pulled her face out of a puddle of syrup. Her contribution to cleaning up the mess was licking the maple syrup off the table. She was going to be bouncy later that day for sure.

"Serena, are you okay?" Dekker asked her. He brought the paper towels and the sponge over to the table and started with the mess. "Are you feeling sick?"

"No… I… my sister… you said Emily was going to be eating as well…"

Dekker pointed to their daughter, "Serena, she's right there."

"Do you see me, mommy?" young Emily asked. Serena nodded her head.

"Yeah… yeah I see you, sweetheart, it's just… excuse me…"

Serena got up from the table and hurried out of the room, leaving her husband and daughter to clean up the mess by themselves. When she was in the main room she noticed there were a few pictures hanging on the walls that she didn't remember placing. Six pictures to be exact. Each one a portrait of the Samurai Rangers.

Serena glanced at the pictures and wondered why they were on the walls. She loved her friends, and because she lived in Japan she didn't see them often, but that didn't explain why their faces were on her wall for everyone to see.

Against the wall was a little table with only a book placed on top. Serena grabbed the book and opened it, curious as to what was inside. To her horror, she found newspaper clippings with tragic headlines on each page.

_Duel Ends Poorly For Samurai Heroes._

_Rangers Taken Out One By One._

_Pink First To All. Other Colours Not Far Behind._

_Dekker's Bride Murders Sister._

The book fell out of Serena's hands as she started to tremble. She couldn't bring herself to read the actual articles. She had enough information from the headlines alone.

"I told you not to look in that book," Dekker sighed and Serena turned to see him standing in the doorway. He approached her slowly and wrapped his arms around her. "You always get worked up."

"The… the duel…" Serena stammered, pushing Dekker away, "What…. What happened? Where's Emily?"

"You don't remember?" Dekker asked. Serena shook her head and he sighed loudly. He reached his hand out to her but she swatted it away. "When the time came for me to duel the red Ranger, you had to make a choice."

"What do you mean?" Serena frowned. "Where's my sister? My friends? What did you…?"

"You can't play on both teams forever," Dekker said. "There comes a time when you must choose your true allegiance."

"And I chose…"

"Remember, we were madly in love. You had just found out you were pregnant with Emily and we both agreed our child needed a father. You had no choice but to help me. You lured the Rangers into our trap. One by one we killed them, fuelling the red Ranger's rage until he was ready to fight."

"No…" Serena shook her head. She loved Dekker but she would never, ever, hurt her friends.

"The duel was perfect," Dekker smirked as he remembered his epic battle against the red Ranger. "Red Ranger was putting up a fight, and several times I thought I was going to lose. His last friend was screaming in the background motivated him to keep going, no matter how injured he was."

"You're sick!" Serena cried, shoving Dekker away from her.

"He almost won," Dekker continued. "Had you not struck when you did, little Emily wouldn't have had a father, and everything we worked for would have been for nothing. Your friends would have died in vain."

"No…" Serena shook her head in disbelief. Dekker, noticing that his wife was upset, took her hand.

"They aren't suffering anymore," he told her. "They have no more worries, no more stress. This was for the best."

"What happened to my sister…?" Serena choked on her own words. "Where is…?"

"She almost got away," Dekker lowered his head. "Once the red Ranger was killed we wondered what we were going to do with her. As we tried to figure it out she broke free and tried to run. She got pretty far too until…"

"Until…" Serena wasn't sure she wanted to hear this next part, but she had to ask.

"She was trying to run home. She knew your mother would protect her. You couldn't let that happen. You stopped her by…"

Dekker's eyes started to tear and Serena really started to wonder what she could have done. Here she was, standing in front of the man who murdered her friends without a second thought, and yet the memory of what she had done to her sister had reduced him to tears.

"You tell me every day how you wish things could have been different. Your sister never liked me and therefore sealed her own fate by fighting against us but that does not ease the pain. We named our daughter after her."

Back in the real world, Dekker noticed tears were streaming down Serena's face and he backed away in shock. He didn't know what to do. It was hard enough comforting a conscious being; he didn't know where to start with an unconscious one.

Unfortunately for him the door opened at that moment and the Rangers all walked in. They were quick to notice the tears in Serena's eyes and they all glared at Dekker.

"What did you do?" Mike growled as Emily rushed over to her sister. Dekker held his hands up in the air and shook his head.

"I did nothing. I sat by her bed with her and watched her."

"Get out!" Emily screamed. She sat next to Serena and held her older sister tightly in her arms. Dekker glared at her before he felt two pairs of arms grabbing him. He saw the blue and gold Rangers had grabbed him and were escorting him out of the room personally.

Emily looked down at her sister as she held her, trying to stop the tears. She couldn't stand to see her sister cry, and it was worse when Serena was unconscious. She stroked her sister's hair gently as the rest of her friends gathered around her.

"It's okay," she whispered to her sister. "You're safe. I won't leave you, I promise."

Mike turned to Jayden, "Kick him out, dude. He's nothing but trouble."

"Dekker?" Jayden frowned. "I wish I could. He won't leave."

"Then give him his fucking sword and send him packing. I don't care what you do; I don't care how you do it! Get him out of this house before he really hurts us. He's already made an unconscious woman cry!"

"Mike, calm down," Mia placed a hand on Mike's arms but he shrugged it off and turned back to Emily. He shook his head sadly as he watched her comfort her sister.

"You better fix this, Jay," he muttered. "If Dekker's not gone soon, I'll duel him myself and I'll fucking kick his ass."

"Mike…"

"I'm serious," Mike growled. "This has gone on long enough. I want him gone."


	162. Dekker Leaves

Jayden pat Antonio on the shoulder as congratulations as he watched the lion jump out of his Power Disk and into the Black Box. Antonio slumped forward in exhaust and wiped the sweat from his brow as he glanced up at Jayden.

"One more to go," he muttered.

Jayden nodded his head, "Something tells me the Bear isn't about to cooperate. You should rest, though."

"It's not like there's anything else to do," Antonio shrugged. "There's only so long we can train for before you kill us, no one's in the mood to hang out and I know if I go out and fish or work my mind's just going to be on Serena. The Black Box can take my mind off of her."

"Obviously it's not," Jayden sighed. He took a seat beside Antonio. He placed his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his hands as he exhaled loudly. "I didn't sleep last night."

"Neither did I," Antonio said. "Though you probably know that…"

"I heard you getting up every ten minutes," Jayden nodded. "What were you doing? I didn't bother to look."

"I was checking up on Dekker," Antonio answered. "I wanted to make sure he wasn't trying anything sneaky. I don't want him anywhere near Serena if he's going to make her cry again."

"I know," Jayden said. "Did you see Mike at all this morning?"

Antonio glanced out the window and Jayden followed his gaze. He saw Mike was training outside, beating the life out of a dummy.

"He told me he's giving you three days," Antonio turned back to Jayden. "He said you have three days to kick him out, or he'll do it."

"Three days?"

"Jayden, you better do it," Antonio looked his best friend in the eye. "I don't trust a bone in Dekker's body. I don't care how in love he is with Serena, he's obviously hurting her. And, if she wakes up, she'll need peace and support. With Dekker around… that's just not possible."

"Trust me, Antonio, I want him gone too. But it's strange."

"Kick him out, Amigo." Antonio shrugged. "Nothing strange about wanting your enemy to leave."

"He won't go, you know that," Jayden said. "He won't leave without Urumasa and Serena."

"Well, compromise," Antonio replied. "Give him the stupid sword and set him free. All he wants is a duel with you. He'll forget all about Serena in a few centuries, if he survives his duel with you."

"Mia would kill me," Jayden chuckled. "She doesn't want him near his sword…"

"Mia's just scared," Antonio said. "She doesn't want him hurting any of us and she's scared that he will if he has Urumasa in his hands. If you can strike a deal with him and get him to leave, I'm sure she won't beat you up too badly."

"That sounds pleasant," Jayden rolled his eyes. "And it won't be humiliating at all. I get my ass handed to me by a girl in pink."

"You didn't seem humiliated that time she smacked the back of your knee," Antonio laughed. "Remember, it was just before you let me…"

"I remember," Jayden nodded.

"Besides, pink used to be a manly colour," Antonio shrugged.

"Yeah, yeah…"

"And Mia is pretty tough…"

"Antonio…"

"I'm just saying," Antonio smirked, "there are more humiliating things than getting your ass kicked by Mia. Remember that time you kissed what you thought was a dead fish? Not only did it bit your lip, but you had a red mark on your cheek for weeks after it slapped you."

"I thought you had forgotten about it," Jayden frowned as he turned to his friends. He shook his head, "Besides, no one was around to see that. It wasn't too humiliating…"

"No, the humiliating part is next," Antonio smiled, "How many people do you think heard that story in the fifteen years we've been apart? Trust me, they may not know you now, but when this Samurai stuff is done and you meet my friends from back home, you'll be so red you'll be able to morph without your Samuraizer."

Jayden closed his eyes and moaned loudly, "Great…" the red Ranger reached for the Black Box and picked it up, "I'll just go put this somewhere safe. In case Dekker tries something."

"See you later, fish lips," Antonio smirked and waved goodbye to Jayden as he left the room. Jayden rolled his eyes, stuffed the Black Box in his pocket and walked out.

He closed the door behind him, turned around and nearly bumped into Kevin who seemed to be suppressing a laugh.

"Okay, first of all, why were you kissing a dead fish?"

"You… I… Antonio…" Jayden growled.

"Dude, don't blame him for the paper walls," Kevin laughed. "I was just seeing if you wanted my help kicking Dekker out. We should do it soon, you know."

"You want him gone too?" Jayden asked. He wasn't really surprised that everyone wanted Dekker gone. He wanted the mad man out of his house. What surprised him though was that fact that everyone seemed to be bringing it up.

"He made Serena cry, he's scaring Emily, he's pissing off Mike, he's stressing Mia out, I'm not sleeping… yeah, I kind of want him gone, for all our sakes."

"Alright," Jayden nodded. "We'll talk to him. Is he in his tent?"

"Mentor Ji just went out with a plate of food," Kevin answered. "I think he's still sulking because we won't let him see Serena."

"A mighty warrior, huh?" Jayden smirked as he followed Kevin to the yard where Dekker's tent was pitched. He tapped the fabric and unzipped the zipper, thinking he would find Dekker inside.

The boys were surprised when the tent was empty except for a plate of uneaten food. Jayden felt a wave of panic wash over him as he turned to Kevin.

"Search the house, now!" he ordered. Kevin didn't need to be told twice as he jumped up and raced inside. Jayden ran to the other side of the house and found Mike still beating a dummy. "Dekker, where is he?"

Mike shrugged, "With any luck he's six feet under. Why?"

"He's not in his tent."

The sword fell from Mike's hands as the green Samurai Ranger bolted into the house. Jayden followed and the two parted ways when they were inside. Mike was headed for the girls' bedroom and Jayden went to Urumasa's hiding spot.

He found the sword still tucked away, which only made his stomach turn. Either Dekker was still in the house, or he was coming back.

He held Urumasa in his hands as he walked to the girls' room. He found the rest of his team gathered there, all with worried looks on their faces.

"I searched the house," Kevin said. "I didn't find him."

"I did a double check," Antonio added. "Nothing."

"Did he come in here?" Mike asked the girls, knowing they had spent the morning in their bedroom with Serena. Mia shook her head.

"I haven't seen him since last night."

"Is he gone?" Emily asked. "Like, really gone?"

Jayden held up Dekker's sword, "For now."

"Why would he leave?" Kevin asked. "He made it clear; he wanted to be with Serena. Why would he take off?"

"He's Dekker," Mike shrugged, "he's a man of mystery. Besides, we're all better off without him."


	163. Serena's Dream Part II

"_He's Dekker; he's a man of mystery. Besides, we're all better off without him."_

Serena felt her heart break and while she couldn't move her body at all, she felt her muscles tense up. Dekker was gone? Was she hearing the Rangers right? Sounds were somewhat muffled most of the time, but she was sure that was what she heard.

Suddenly, she was hit by a bright light. She felt her body crash into the ground and she was pelted by flying dirt. She opened her eyes and saw she was on a battle field.

She pushed herself up but felt pain radiating through her entire body. She collapsed again, breathing heavily. Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her.

"Serena?" a gently voice called and she was lifted into a seated position. She saw her sister was hugging her and did her best to hug Emily back while looking over her sister's head to see what was going on.

The other Rangers had also fallen with the exception of Jayden. The red Ranger, who was no longer morphed, was standing weakly on his feet, his Spin Sword in hand and at the ready as he glared down at a fallen Dekker.

Suddenly, Jayden raised his sword and Serena watched as he plunged it into Dekker's heart. She heard a piercing scream coming from the man she loved and she couldn't take it. She buried her face in her sister's shoulder as Emily held her.

"He's dead," Mike cheered, finally able to get to his feet. He bounced up and rushed over to Jayden, leaping onto his leader's back. "You did it, Jay! You killed him!"

The other Rangers all joined Mike and Jayden, forming a group hug, but Serena didn't feel like celebrating. She was on her knees, sobbing loudly as the rain started to come down.

Emily ran back to her sister and stood over her, a wide grin plastered onto her face.

"Serena, he's dead! Everything's okay now!" Emily reached for Serena's arm and tried to pull her sister up but Serena couldn't be moved. She stared at Dekker's fallen body as everything around her started to disappear. Her friends and her sister were still there, but she shut them out completely.

She pushed her sister away and stumbled over to Dekker. She collapsed to her knees beside him and laid her head on his bleeding chest.

"We had a deal!" she heard herself cry out. "No one was supposed to die!"

"Serena, this is the way it has to be," she could just barely hear Emily's voice as her sister approached her. Emily wrapped her arms around Serena and tried to pull her away from Dekker, "It was him or us. You know that."

Serena nodded her head. She knew that very well. She couldn't have both, though she wanted Dekker by her side and her family to be with her. But it just wasn't possible. They were enemies.

"Of course I know that," she sobbed, "but that doesn't mean… I… he was special, Emy. He's not… he wasn't… you didn't know him."

"He was a bad guy," Emily shrugged. "He wanted to kill us."

"No… he… he's not a bad guy. He's just… it was… no!"

"Serena! What's wrong with you?" Emily asked. Her sister wasn't making any sense. Today was a good day. Dekker was finally gone, Master Xandred was long gone, and the Rangers could finally live in peace and move on with their lives, and yet Serena was acting like this was the end of the world.

"I love him!" she shouted. It sounded weird when the words came out of her mouth. She knew she had feelings for him for a while now, and she had admitted to herself that it was love, but confessing those feelings to her sister and the world made it all seem so real. She loved Dekker.

"You what?" Emily spat and quickly backed away from her sister, a look of disgust and horror on her face. Serena's eyes widened when she realised what she had done.

"Emy… please, you have to understand…"

"No!" Emily shook her head and jumped back to her feet. She raced over to her friends who all seemed just as mortified as Emily. They couldn't believe she had just professed her love for Dekker.

Then, suddenly, they all turned their backs to her, leaving her with the man she loved. Serena looked down at Dekker one last time and grabbed his hand before everything around her faded to black and her dream world (though this was more of a nightmare) started to disappear.

As Serena drifted back to sleep, she knew one thing was certain. If she ever woke up she had a choice to make. She needed to decide what was more important: friends and family, or love. It seemed there was no way she would be able to have both.

Back in the real world, the Rangers were all gathered around Serena. They had pulled in stools and chairs and had gotten settled around her, hoping she would know that they were there and they were supporting her. They all had tears in their eyes as they watched her, waiting and wishing for her to wake up.

Antonio decided to pipe up, breaking the eerie silence as he tried to cheer up his friends. He didn't want to be crying. He wanted to stay positive.

"Jayden kissed a fish."

"Antonio…" Jayden growled as he turned to his best friend and shot him a look that told him this wasn't the time. Antonio ignored Jayden though. He hoped, maybe, he could get at least one of his friends to laugh.

"Apparently he's not a good kisser," he chuckled, wiping away his tears. "The fish bit him on the lip and slapped him silly."

"I'm still wondering why you would kiss a fish," a smile tugged at Kevin's lips as he turned to his leader. He had overheard the conversation between Antonio and Jayden earlier and was reminded of his initial concerns. Who, in their right mind, would want to kiss a fish? Least of all one they thought was dead.

"You kissed a fish?" Mia asked with a slight laugh in her voice as she pictured the scene: young Jayden locking lips with a slimy fish. "Why?"

"I was five," Jayden shrugged, "Antonio dared me and I tried to be fearless."

"It didn't work out for him when he started screaming like a little girl," Antonio laughed. "Mentor had to stop the fish from slapping Jayden and then remove it from his lip."

"How big was the fish?" Mike asked.

Antonio held his hands several inches apart, "About this big. Doesn't look so big now, but remember, Fish Lips was just a little boy when this happened. He was much smaller so the fish seemed pretty big."

"Antonio…" Jayden growled, his cheeks as red as the day the fish had slapped him silly.

"What, amigo?"

"You have ten seconds to live," Jayden turned to the clock and started to count down, "ten, nine, eight…"

"Adios!" Antonio cried as he darted out of the room, Jayden hot on his heels.

Mike chuckled and shook his head before turning to Serena and Emily who had held her big sister softly in her arms. He looked at the older sister with a smile, "If you can hear this, please let this moment be something you remember when you wake up."

"Actually," Kevin smirked, "don't remember it. Telling this story again would be priceless."

Emily squeezed her sister gently, "Just wake up…"


	164. A Little Bit Of Progress

As the days went by, it was starting to become clear that Serena wasn't close to waking up. Still, the Rangers weren't giving up hope. Mentor Ji spent most of his days in the girls' bedroom, tending to Serena and making sure she was getting all that she needed and the Rangers were taking turns sitting at her bedside, just in case she did open her eyes. They wanted a familiar face to be in the room to comfort her.

Emily was never away from the room for long and therefore didn't have designated days, but the rest of the Rangers did. Mia had been first, then Kevin, then Antonio. Now it was Jayden's turn. He sat on a chair by her bed with her hand in his. He stroked it gently so she could know there was someone with her. Mentor Ji had left the room to fix the Rangers some lunch for when they finished with their training. Jayden knew they weren't giving their training everything they had, but he didn't blame them. Even he hadn't been doing his best since Serena came home.

Emily was the only other person in the room with Jayden, but she was fast asleep on the other side of the bed. She had been sleeping for hours, and Jayden couldn't bring himself to wake her, even when Mentor told him he wanted her at the table for lunch. As far as Jayden was concerned, the other Rangers would have to eat without her.

Jayden looked down at Serena's hand and the IV tubing that had been inserted in. There wasn't much to do in this room except think. Usually, when he thought, he made sure he spoke out loud so Serena would hear him. He was never sure what to say to her, but Mia insisted it was good for Serena to hear friendly voices.

This time, though, Jayden didn't speak. He was afraid it would wake up Emily. He kept his thoughts to himself as he wondered where Mentor had learned all the first aid treatments. His knowledge seemed to go beyond basic first aid, though, as he was now taking care of Serena and it looked like he knew what he was doing, but Jayden couldn't remember Mentor ever studying to be a doctor. Of course, the old man spent a lot of time alone, and he had been responsible for two Ranger teams at this point. Surely he would have picked up on a few things while treating the post-battle injuries. Still, Jayden had to wonder just how many talents and skills Mentor was hiding from him and the other Rangers.

His gaze strayed back to Serena's face and his heart stopped. Her eyes were open. She didn't seem to be focusing on anything, but her eyes were open. It was progress. He jumped to his feet and reached across the bed, shaking Emily away.

"What…?" Emily groaned as she lifted her head and looked at Jayden. She saw he was leaning over her sister and she began to worry, fearing something had happened. When Jayden saw her getting up he moved out of the way, allowing Emily to look over her sister herself.

Emily's eyes were wide when she saw Serena had hers opened. She leaned over her sister and touched her cheek gently. Jayden placed his hand on Emily's back and gestured to the door.

"I'll go get Mentor," he said before taking off. Emily simply nodded her head and smiled down at her sister.

"Serena… can you hear me?" she asked. Serena's eyes slowly looked around the room, but the rest of her body didn't move. Emily touched her sister gently and grabbed her hand tightly, "You're going to be okay… Dayu's gone, Dekker's gone. You're home with us. We'll take care of you."

A smile grew on Emily's face when she felt Serena squeezing her hand softly. Mentor Ji and the other Rangers stepped inside the room in this moment. While the Rangers were frozen in shock, Mentor raced over to the computers.

"Be very gentle, Emily," he told his youngest Samurai, though it was unneeded. Emily didn't want to do anything that would scare or harm her sister.

Slowly and to everyone's dismay, Serena's eyes began to shut. Emily tried to keep her sister awake but Mentor Ji shook his head.

"Let her rest."

Mike approached his girlfriend slowly and pulled her off the bed and into his arms.

"Let's leave her with Mentor for an hour or so, okay?" he suggested. "Mentor will take care of her."

"I can't," Emily shook her head. "I have to be here in case…"

"She won't wake up for another little while," Mentor assured Emily. "In that time I want you all to take care of yourselves. Eat, shower and enjoy some down time. I will let you know if anything happens."

"Fix her, Mentor," Antonio said. He knew Serena was a lot more complicated than a broken toy, but if anyone could help her recover properly it was Mentor Ji. The older man nodded his head as the Rangers left the room. Jayden and Antonio went to the kitchen to grab the food Mentor had been making for lunch, and Mike walked Emily into the common room so they could sit together.

Mia didn't get very far from her bedroom door. She leaned against the opposite wall and stared at the door. Kevin turned when he noticed she wasn't following him. He sighed when he saw her staring at her bedroom door.

"Don't do that," he whispered.

Mia turned to him, "Do what?"

"Don't start crying," he leaned next to her against the wall and took her hand. "You're going to start, and then I'll start. Someone's going to see us and they'll start. The whole house will start crying if you do."

"I want to help," Mia muttered. "I need to help but…"

"You're doing what you can," Kevin assured her. "You shouldn't feel like…"

"I want to help Serena," Mia said. "I can't let her lie there and not do anything. I need to help her."

"You're doing what's best for her," Kevin squeezed her hand. "You've given up your room for her, and half your bed for her sister. That's more than enough…"

"I need to do more. She's obviously still hurting and…"

"It's not your fault," Kevin whispered. He pulled Mia into a hug. "I know it's hard to just sit and wait, especially for you. You always want to help and you always need to do something for someone else, but you can't do anymore. Take care of yourself."

"I'm not dying, though…"

"I… uh…" Kevin didn't know what else to say. He hated to see Mia feeling so helpless but he knew she would just stress herself out if she tried to do anything more, not that there was anything else she or the rest of the house could do for Serena. Everyone was doing all they could. The rest was up to Serena.

He turned his head and looked down the hallway before resting his gaze on Mike and Emily in the common room. He knew there was nothing more Mia could do for Serena to help her recover, but there was something she could do if she needed to keep busy.

"Maybe there is something you can do," he said as he shifted his gaze back down to her. "There's a little Samurai who needs a big sister right now. Given your nature, I think you're more than capable of taking care of her while Serena's recovering."

"Kevin…"

"In fact, the entire house needs someone to whip them back into shape. We're in no condition to be superheroes right now. Master Xandred would be having a field day if he knew what state we were all in. If you're up to it, maybe you can help by being strong for the rest of the house."

Mia nodded her head, "I can do that."

Kevin kissed her forehead and smiled. "Good. But you won't be doing it alone. I'll be there if you need me."

"Thanks, Kevin," Mia beamed. She looked down the hallway at Mike and Emily, "When was the last time she ate?"

"Breakfast yesterday… I think," Kevin frowned. "I'll go help Jayden and Antonio with the meals. You can work on getting her to eat. We want Serena to wake up a full, healthy house, right?"

"Yeah," Mia smiled brightly. Kevin kissed her before leaving for the kitchen to help the red and gold Rangers. Mia straightened herself out, wiped away the tears from her face and headed into the common room to take care of the younger Rangers.


	165. Serena's Dream Part III

Serena was torn. She needed to go one way, but her heart was pulling her in another direction.

She was standing in the middle of a street. She didn't know the name of the street, or even the name of the city she was in. All she knew was that she was alone and she had to make a choice.

On one side of the street was a hospital and she knew what was inside. Of course, there were many sick and injured people, but there was only one person in that building who mattered to Serena.

On the other side was thick forest, which was home to the man who somehow captured her heart. She owed him a great deal and she knew there was more to him than he let people see.

She wanted to go both ways, but she could only choose one.

Suddenly, a car came speeding down the road and Serena was unable to jump out of the way. The headlights blinded her and she closed her eyes, bracing for impact. Instead of being hit by a car, though, Serena was hit by an image.

Fire burned around her, destroying the trees and plants in the forest. Serena didn't fear the flames, though. She was watching the scene from the middle of the lake, where she was floating just above the water.

The wind picked up, fuelling the fire as it tore across a dirt path, creating a wall between two figures who were locked in an intense duel. Suddenly, the taller, stronger figure broke through the flames, clearly unharmed, before lunging at his opponent with his sword and piercing through the small figure's body. Serena let out a loud cry as she watched the small figure drop dead to the ground before seeing a bright light shining behind her. She turned around just in time and noticed another car speeding her way. Just as she was about to be struck again, she was pulled from this world and into another, and she was dropped roughly on the ground.

She coughed after inhaling some dirt and slowly rolled herself over onto her back before feeling a sharp pain in her side. She rolled on the ground several times before coming to a stop. She looked up wearily and saw Dekker standing over her, Urumasa in his hands with the tip of the blade held inches away from her face.

"They think I'll kill you," Dekker growled, lifting his sword, "Maybe I should prove them right?"

"Dekker, no…" Serena stammered but it was too late. He brought his sword down and just as it was about to hit Serena she heard a car honking its horn and she was struck on the side. She rolled in the dirt until she was grabbed and lifted up by a pair of strong arms. She looked up; her vision blurred, and could barely make out Kevin's face. He held her tightly while shouting something to the people standing before him, their backs turned. Serena couldn't understand what he was saying, but she kept hearing her sister's name over and over again.

A car tore through the Rangers suddenly and struck Serena and Kevin, knocking her backwards into the earth. Coughing and dizzy, she stumbled to her feet and looked around. She was standing just outside a cave, which she recognised quickly, in the middle of a dense forest. It was the same cave where she had been buried under tonnes of rubble. The cave where Dekker saved her life for the second time.

The rubble was still blocking the entrance to the cave and Serena immediately noticed Dekker's arm sticking out from under a rock. Her heart tore into pieces as she imagined him trapped under the boulder and she raced to help him. She owed him her life and she couldn't let him die without telling him how she felt.

She tried to move the rocks from on top of Dekker when she heard a loud crashing sound and she looked up just in time to see a big boulder rolling her way. She tried to jump out of the way but she wasn't fast enough. The boulder smacked her, knocking her off her feet and she rolled down the pile of rubble until she landed back in the dirt. She coughed again and pushed herself up, surprised to see a hospital just across the street. She watched as an ambulance pulled up to the hospital and they unloaded a patient from the back. Serena's heart sank when she recognised the curly blonde hair, even from across the street.

She jumped up and raced to the hospital, but she stopped short when she remembered Dekker was still pinned. She turned around, facing his direction, and saw a thick forest and she knew Dekker was somewhere among the trees, waiting for her to choose him.

She turned back to the hospital and she knew her sister was waiting inside. Serena stood in the middle of the road, unable to choose who to run to. Whatever choice she made, she was going to hurt someone.

She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. Her body shook in frustration as images played in her head: Dekker: forever trapped in the rubble, betrayed by the only person who could see the human side inside of him. Emily: lying in her hospital bed, forever waiting for her sister to turn up and sit by her side like she had done for Serena for eight long years. It wasn't too much to ask for from Serena, but it was tearing her apart. She couldn't choose between her family and Dekker. Someone would always get hurt.

Her knees buckled and she broke down crying in the middle of the street. She was scared. Scared of losing her family and everything she cherished if she chose a life with Dekker, and scared of losing Dekker and turning him back into a monster if she chose to go back to her family. It was too big a burden to bear, and things weren't ever going to be easy as long as both sides remained enemies.

In the real world, hours had passed since Serena had opened her eyes and Mentor was starting to think it was just a fluke, or a tease. Serena didn't seem to be getting any better; in fact, just by looking at her face he could tell she was suffering.

A tear rolled down his cheek as he took her hand.

"Stay strong, Serena."

-Samurai-

"Seven. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven," Mia moved her game piece across the board before handing the dice over to Emily. The yellow Ranger rolled them half-heartedly and moved her piece three spaces.

Mike picked up the dice now that it was his turn. He rolled them, moved the number of spaces required and smiled excitedly as he picked up a card.

"Torn between two tough choices. Take some time to think and skip next turn. Aw, man! I thought I was going to get something cool like 'It's your lucky day. Double next roll'."

"You're not very good at this game, Mike," Kevin chuckled and pointed to the green piece, which was still close to the start of the game.

"It's not my fault I get kicked back to home every other turn," Mike crossed his arms over his chest.

"Here's a tip. Avoid the cards. You have a fifty/fifty chance of getting a bad one," Antonio smirked. He reached for the dice and rolled as Jayden walked back into the room, having refilled the bowl of chips. He set them down on the table to share with the group.

"Anything happen while I was gone?" he asked.

"Kevin's in the lead now and Mike's still sucking," Antonio laughed. Jayden rolled his eyes playfully.

"What's new?"

"Dude, I challenge any of you to any of the video games on the shelf. We'll see who sucks then."

"Given you've probably wasted half your life staring at a TV screen, I don't think winning would be a big accomplishment," Kevin teased.

"You're just jealous," Mike smirked. Antonio finished his turn and handed the dice to Jayden and the game continued until it was Emily's turn again. She picked up the dice and shook them in her hand before suddenly throwing them across the room. Her friends all sighed and exchanged glum looks. They knew this was coming.

"Emily…" Mia whispered softly as Emily got up and stormed off. She turned to the boys, knowing where Emily was headed. There was no place else she would rather be at this point.

Mike bit his lip and turned to the dog bed. Scruffy was sleeping soundly after an exciting afternoon of fetch in the backyard. Just like the last time Serena's fate had been unknown, the Rangers were trying to use to the dog to cheer Emily up. Nothing else they had done over the past week seemed to be helping. He was their last hope.

The green Ranger tossed the stack of cards at the dog gently, pulling him from his sleep. He jumped up and scanned the room before his eyes fell on Mike.

"Where's Emily?" Mike asked excitedly and Scruffy took off barking in search of his owner. The rangers heard him racing on the hardwood floor and suddenly his barking turned into whining. They all got up slowly to see what had happened.

It was nothing too exciting. Emily had just closed the door behind her when she went to her room and Scruffy was unable to get in. Mike snapped his fingers disappointedly. Scruffy hadn't been fast enough to catch her.

Antonio grabbed Scruffy's collar and pulled him away from the door, "I think I'll take him on another walk. Maybe he can clear my head."

"I'll go with you," Jayden offered.

The Rangers parted ways, with Antonio and Jayden leaving with Scruffy, and Mike, Mia and Kevin making their way into Mia and Emily's bedroom. They saw Mentor sitting in a far corner while Emily sat on her bed beside her sister.

"Has anything happened?" Mike asked Mentor. The older man shook his head.

"No changes," he said. "At this point, I don't know if it's a good or bad thing."

"It's frustrating," Kevin sighed, "that's for sure."

"Maybe… we should take her to a hospital," Mia offered. It was going to be complicated trying to explain Serena's situation to the doctors and nurses, especially when they would ask why she hadn't been brought in sooner, but if it meant Serena would recover, Mia would be willing to sit through all the questions. "She can get around the clock care by several professionals who…"

"No," Emily shook her head. "She's fine here."

Mike nodded, "Yeah. Mentor knows what he's doing. She's not getting sicker. She's just…"

"We're tired, frustrated and this is all way too personal," Mia said. "I just think we should start considering…"

"NO!" Emily shouted and as he friends turned to face her they could have sworn they saw Serena's face twitch slightly at Emily's yell. The younger earth Samurai held onto her sister tightly, "They'll tell me I can't see her. I'm not leaving her!"

"Emily…" Kevin took a step forward but Emily shook her head.

"I won't leave her. No matter what…" Emily looked down at her sister's face, "Please, wake up! Get better! I'll do whatever you want!"

"Emily…"

"I'll never walk away from you again," Emily sobbed as she lowered her head onto her sister's chest. "Wake up!"

-Samurai-

Serena could hear her sister's screams coming from the hospital as she stared at the building. She turned back to the forest and listened for Dekker. Not a sound could be heard from the forest. Where was he?

"Dekker?" she called his name but he didn't answer. Meanwhile, Emily's cries for her sister were still loud.

Serena stepped back, away from the forest. She could hear Emily. She was somewhere, waiting for Serena. Dekker seemed to be gone.

Quickly, Serena turned around and bolted to the hospital.


	166. Awakening

Emily pounded her fists into the mattress as her frustration grew. The rest of the room was in tears as they watched. Part of them wished Serena had never opened her eyes. It had given them all a little hope that she was getting better and now, as time went on and her condition failed to improve, it was just a painful taunt.

The yellow Ranger sobbed into her sister's chest, whispering '_I love you'_sand promises in hopes that Serena would hear them and wake up. Just when Emily started to give up on the chance that her sister might hear her, she felt a hand gently brush her hair before resting on the back of her head while another touched her back softly. Emily looked up and gasped.

"Serena!"

The older sister's eyes darted around the room in panic as she tried to get up. Pain shot through her entire body as she moved and she wanted to scream but there was something stopping her. Emily gently tried to calm her sister and keep her still as the others gathered around.

"She's moving, at least," Mia smiled. This was already a step up from the last time Serena opened her eyes. She had done nothing more than lay there. Now she seemed a lot more alive.

"I'll remove the tube," Mentor said as he gestured for the Rangers to take a step back. They watched and waited patiently as he slid the tube out of her mouth and checked her breathing before backing off and letting the Rangers get back to Serena.

"Serena… are you okay?" Emily asked. Serena looked up at her sister and couldn't bring herself to answer. She saw a man, whose face she barely recognised, place a hand on her little sister's shoulder.

"Be very patient with her," he told Emily. The yellow Ranger nodded her head and turned back to her sister.

"You're safe," she promised. "Dayu really hurt you but we saved you. She won't hurt you again, I promise."

She wrapped her arms around Serena and didn't want to let go. Slowly, Serena placed her hands on Emily's body in an attempt to hug her sister back. It was good enough for Emily, though, who started sobbing in relief.

"You really scared us," Kevin smiled to Serena. "When we heard someone took you we all started to panic."

"We're sorry for doubting you," Mia added. "You're important to us. We don't want to lose you."

Emily pulled away from her sister slightly, "Are you and Dekker… you know… He was always trying to get close to you and be with you… is he your…?"

"We should let Serena rest," Mentor interrupted Emily. "She's awake, but she'll still got a long way to go and she's nowhere near ready for questions."

"Mentor's right," Mike nodded. "We should let her rest. We can go catch up with Antonio and Jayden and tell them the news."

"Don't leave," Emily told her sister. "Please get better, okay?"

"Pizza for dinner?" Kevin offered as Mike helped Emily off the bed. He glanced at Serena, "We'll be back here soon. Once Mentor's had a good look at you, okay?"

"I won't be far," Emily promised. She pulled out her Ape Zord from her pocket and placed it in her sister's hand. She wrapped Serena's fingers around it so her sister wouldn't drop it and she smiled. "Mentor Ji and the Ape will take good care of you, okay?"

There was no response from Serena but Mentor nodded his head and slowly guided the Rangers out of the room. Emily followed her friends. She didn't want to leave, but Mentor had a lot of work ahead of him and she would only get in the way.

-Samurai-

Dekker fell to his knees in the middle of a deserted street. He clutched his head tightly as he felt a throbbing pain pounding on the inside of his skull.

He had left Serena almost a week before and he could no longer take the pain. The Rangers had been treating him unfairly and he didn't want to stick around anymore. They were treating him worse than their dog, and if he remained in the house he would have killed them all. He couldn't do that to Serena though. He had promised her their safety until the duel and he intended to keep that promise. For her, he had to leave.

But he had been living alone for days since he wandered off. Days without Serena and days without Urumasa, and the more time that passed, the more he felt himself longing for pain, suffering and blood.

He fell forward and held his hands out to break the fall as a pain, worse than anything he had ever felt overwhelmed him and he could feel himself losing control of his Nighlok half. It overpowered him, transforming him into a monster: a form he only took in battle.

A lonely man, intending on finding a shortcut between the city parking lot and the bus station, traveled down the deserted room, humming to himself before he noticed a figure doubled over in the street. Cautiously, he approached the figure, thinking it was someone who needed help.

But as he got closer he noticed the figure wasn't human and he let out a loud cry as he started to run. Dekker leapt up from the ground and chased after him. He was much faster than any man and it took no time at all to catch him. He grabbed him around the neck and threw him into a building wall. As the man sank to the ground, Dekker grabbed him again by the neck and lifted him off his feet. The man struggled for breath as Dekker's grip tightened and he slammed the man into the wall.

The man gasped as Dekker let go of his neck and grabbed him by the shirt. He pinned him against the wall and growled angrily. The man, desperate to live, said anything he could to try and get the monster to let him go.

"Please," he begged, "I wanted to propose to my girlfriend tonight…. I want to tell her I'll love her forever…"

But that only fuelled Dekker's rage as he lifted the man and threw him, head first, into the building. His skull cracked opened and the man laid dead on the ground. Dekker kicked his lifeless body before storming off, clutching his head to try and ease the pain. He started to stumble and he fell to his knees again as he realised what he had done and how Serena would disapprove greatly. Her image flashed through his mind as he turned back into his human form.

He picked himself up and staggered along the road until he found a very secluded area. He dropped to the ground, breathing heavily and he closed his eyes.

-Samurai-

"You seem bouncy," Mia commented to Emily as she grabbed the younger Samurai by the shoulders and tried to hold her down and keep her from bouncing down the street on their way home from the pizza parlour. Emily turned to Mia and nodded her head.

"Serena's going to be okay!" Emily beamed brightly.

"Well, her recovery's still a long way from… oof!" Kevin gasped as Mike nudged him painfully in the ribs. The blue Ranger looked down at Green and saw Mike was shooting him a ´_let her be happy_' look. He nodded his head and kept his mouth shut.

"I wish I had been there," Antonio smiled. "I mean, I'm happy she's awake, but she couldn't have waited until Jayden and I got back home? We missed all the fun."

"I would describe it as fun," Mia said. "She's awake and she's alert, but she's still kind of… off. Still, I guess you guys did miss out on something incredible."

"I'm just happy she's awake," Jayden nodded his head. "Hopefully, in a few days, she can tell us what Dayu wanted. The more we know, the easier it'll be to protect her."

"Dayu's probably just as batty as Dekker," Mike shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't waste my time on either of them, dude. Just focus on your main goal. That sealing symbol."

"Maybe you can use it to seal Dekker away too," Emily suggested. "That way I don't have to worry about him and my sister."

"I'll see what I can do," Jayden laughed while patting Emily on the head. The yellow Ranger grabbed his hand and pulled him down the road.

"C'mon! We have to get home fast! You're all slowing me down!" she cried, tugging her leader along, knowing the others would follow.

Kevin, Mia, Mike and Antonio exchanged looks and rolled their eyes before running after Jayden and Emily.

"Slowing her down has been our mission since we all met," Kevin chuckled.

"So far: total failure," Antonio laughed.


	167. Anything For Her

Mentor Ji found it was nice to see his Rangers were all smiling again as they walked back into the Shiba House and found him sitting in the common room, reading a book peacefully. He returned their smiles with his own and closed his book as he got to his feet.

"Serena should be fine," he said.

He didn't think their smiles could get any bigger. He knew it wasn't the best of news. He wanted to be able to tell them she would make a full recovery. But he just wasn't sure if that was the case yet or not. Still, things were definitely looking up and after all the waiting and not knowing they had faced, this small piece of _okay_ news was still the best thing any of them had ever heard.

"Why aren't you with her?" Emily asked, a little bit of concern in her voice.

"Your Ape is keeping her company," Mentor Ji assured Emily and the other Rangers. "I told her to try and get some rest, and I came out here to give her some peace. If you want to see her…"

"If?"

"I suggest you enter quietly," Mentor chuckled, seeing the look Emily was giving him. Of course she wanted to see her sister. All the Rangers wanted to see her.

"I'll just get Scruffy some water," Mike said to Emily as he kissed her on the cheek. "I'll be right in as soon as I'm done."

"Okay," Emily nodded before grabbing Mia's and Kevin's arms and racing to her bedroom. Mike chuckled and shook his head as he parted ways with his friends and led Scruffy into the kitchen for some water. The dog, which was now getting pretty big, was parched after his walk through the city and his afternoon in the sun.

Mike picked up the dog bowl from the floor and held it under the tap as he turned the water on. Scruffy waited faithfully at his feet for something to drink and he wagged his tail excitedly. Mike looked down at the dog and chuckled.

"Thirsty, Scruffers?"

The dog barked and Mike set the bowl of water down next to Scruffy. As the dog lapped up the water Mike headed back into the Common Room to find Mentor Ji.

"So, Serena's going to be okay?" he asked Mentor. The older man nodded his head and turned on the TV. He had read enough of his book for the day.

"We'll know more when she starts coming to a little more," he answered. "She can move her arms slowly, as you've seen, and she looked at me when I spoke to her, but there's nothing more she can do."

"Is that normal?"

"Every patient is different," Mentor told Mike before nodding, "but yes. Slow emergence is normal."

"So, all in all, things are good. Emily, and all of us, we'll get her back?"

"Yes, Mike, you will get her back."

"Sweet."

"Why are you asking so many questions?" Mentor asked. "You're normally the one who takes information as is. You tend not to worry over the little details."

"Serena means a lot to Emily, and Emily means a lot to me. I want her to be okay, for Emily's sake. We all know how devastated Emily would be if something happened to her sister."

"The Earth Samurai are strong," Mentor said. "I've seen a number in my day, and I have mentored two personally. I knew Serena wouldn't give up and I knew Emily would be strong enough to handle any challenge thrown her way."

"Yeah, but I don't want her to have to face challenge after challenge her entire life," Mike shrugged. He glanced up at Mentor, "And I know you're going to say overcoming obstacles help us grow into better, stronger people, but we all need some downtime, right?"

"Yes, Mike. Everyone needs a little down time," Mentor gestured to the TV, "Why do you think I bought this TV?"

"I'm just saying," Mike chuckled. "Hopefully the drama stops for a little while and we all get a bit of a breather, you know. It might help Serena recover, and maybe we'll get a goodnight's sleep for once."

"The life of a Samurai," Mentor nodded and laughed. "Don't worry, Mike, good things come to those who wait."

"We've waited long enough," Mike shrugged. He started to make his way to the bedrooms, "The guys are probably wondering where I am. It was nice chatting with you, dude, uh… Mentor."

"Nice chatting with you, Mike," Mentor nodded.

-Samurai-

When Dekker woke up he felt himself laying on something soft. He opened his eyes and looked around the room. Quickly, he realised he was back in the building where Dayu had taken Serena, which only meant one thing…

He bolted upright and tried to roll off his cot but he heard a voice. He turned and saw Dayu sitting in a chair while watching him.

"It's because she's pretty, right?" he heard Dayu asking him. Dekker furrowed his brow.

"What?"

"I know this form isn't beautiful," Dayu got up from her chair and slowly walked over to Dekker, "but I know we can make it work. All you need to do is remember…"

"I do not need to remember," Dekker growled. "I don't care for anything but my duel and Serena. You have some nerve finding me."

"Serena…" Dayu spat out the name like it was poisoned. "What do you see in her, anyways? She's just a pathetic mortal. In sixty years she'll be dead. Then what will you have?"

"Your words will not influence me," Dekker answered. "I know what I want. I know what I need."

"You need to embrace who you are," Dayu rolled her eyes. "You can't keep living this lie."

"Who are you to tell me what my life is?"

"I know, you Dekker," Dayu reached out and touched his arm. "I know you better than you know yourself."

Dekker grabbed her by the neck and ran her into the wall. He pinned her there and leaned his face in close to hers. Softly, he growled: "I just killed a man. Nothing can stop me from killing a pathetic Nighlok such as yourself."

"You won't do that," Dayu looked up at him with pleading eyes, wishing he would remember her and their past.

"After what you did to Serena, I should. I should damn you to a life of misery! Whatever crazy fantasy you have in your head does not involve Serena. You had no right to hurt her!"

"It does not involve her; you're right," Dayu nodded, "which I why I needed to remove her from the picture. You will never remember with her in the way."

Dekker squeezed her neck tighter and Dayu started gasping for breath. She looked at Dekker, begging for him to let her go.

Suddenly, Dekker tossed her to the floor like a useless rag and he turned to the doorway.

"I won't kill you," he said. "If I do, I will only anger Xandred. I know I can defeat him but it would put Serena in danger. I cannot risk it."

"Dekker…"

"If I find you anywhere near Serena or the Rangers again, though, I will make the rest of your life a living hell. Your fate will be worse than that of any Nighlok imprisoned in the Netherworld."

"You killed a man!" Dayu shouted to Dekker as he was about to leave. "What makes you think she'll return your feelings when she finds out what you did? She will never understand your Nighlok half."

"She won't have to," Dekker muttered. He slammed the door shut behind him as he walked out. "She keeps me human. That's what I want to be."


	168. More To The Story

Progress was slow, but it was definitely happening as the days went by. Serena slept for most of the day, which still worried the Rangers, but she would wake up regularly and she was able to make contact with the Rangers and move around, even if it was only a little bit.

Jayden had brought Serena a rubix cube so she could keep herself entertained. She could use her hands pretty well at this point, and he figured the mental stimulation would help. She seemed to enjoy the challenge of figuring out the cube, though she had solved it several times already.

When she wasn't playing with the cube she would be petting Scruffy. The dog loved his owner's older sister and whenever he could he would cuddle up in her bed with her. Antonio was convinced that the dog thought Serena was Emily because Serena was sleeping in the yellow Ranger's bed, but the others gave the young dog more credit than that.

She could also nod her head yes or no when the Rangers asked her questions. Speech was still a little mumbled as Serena couldn't quite figure out words, but everyone knew she would get it eventually. She got a little frustrated most times, especially when the Rangers couldn't figure out what she wanted to say, but they were starting to learn her non-verbal language, which helped a great deal in keeping her relaxed.

The Rangers would all visit during the day. Mike would come first thing in the morning to say hi and ask Serena how she slept (a nod for good and a shake for bad), and he would talk to her (usually with Mia and Emily in the room), until they were all called for morning training. While they were out in the yard or in the dojo, Serena would usually be left with Scruffy or Mentor Ji if he wasn't overseeing the training, and usually she took this time alone to sleep some more.

After training, while waiting for lunch to be made, Kevin would stop by and he would tell Serena all about the progress the Rangers were making. Serena seemed very interested as he spoke and a smile always graced her lips when he told her of Emily's progress.

Emily would usually be back in the room after lunch time and she would sit and talk to her sister. Serena was thankful for the sibling bond she had formed with Emily when they were younger because it meant that Emily could understand what Serena was saying, without Serena needing to speak. Almost like a telepathic connection. It did help that Emily was always so excited and talkative that Serena usually didn't need to say much.

Antonio would always visit mid-afternoon after a few hours of fishing. He would always reek of fish when he came into the room, but Serena didn't mind. As Emily always told Antonio when he apologized for the smell: they had grown up on a farm with animals. They were used to smells.

Antonio would talk to Serena about his business and how he got started in the fish vendor world. He would tell her stories that dated way back into his childhood and went all the way up to a couple of weeks before joining the Samurai. He would always laugh when Serena scrunched up her face in disgust when he spoke of gutting fish or getting splashed by fish guts.

Jayden would usually walk in at that point and say a few words to Serena. He would ask her how she was doing (again, it was a nod for good and a shake for bad) and he would always promise her that he and the rest of the house would take good care of her. Then, he, Antonio and Emily would leave the room for dinner.

Emily would usually be back right after dinner, and most nights she brought Mia and Mike with her. The three would then use this down time to help Serena with her recovery. They would work on getting her to move (a task made even more difficult due to her numerous injuries), and they would work on trying to stimulate her speech. They knew she was close, as every night she showed progress, but she still wasn't quite there. She could make sounds, but she couldn't form them into words.

Reluctantly, Mike would leave just before midnight to go to bed. Usually Serena was fast asleep at that point, but he liked staying to keep Emily company. While they no longer had to worry about Serena dying, they weren't out of the woods just yet. Emily put on a brave face for her sister and the rest of the house as she sat by her sick sister's bedside, and he always wanted to make sure she was coping properly. Mia was always willing to help, and promised Mike every night when he left that she would take care of everything.

The atmosphere in the house was definitely a lot more positive now that Serena was awake and the Samurai were reunited. It was nice for all the Rangers to get some time as a team to just relax and bond.

Mike, especially, was enjoying it. He and the other Rangers had been put through the wringer, especially as of late, and he had been waiting ages for a moment like this. He would have preferred it if Serena's visit was more recreation than recovery, but he would take what he was given, especially if it put a smile on Emily's face.

But the good times didn't last long. Mike found Scruffy in the hallways chewing on the newspaper Mentor had collected that morning and he knew he had to take it away from the dog before Scruffy swallowed it all. As he ripped the paper from the dog's mouth he saw the headline.

_Camera Reveals Truth: Man Murdered By Monster._

Mike looked at the photo printed on the front cover. It was obviously a frozen image from one of the city security cameras and the time and date that it was taken was printed on the bottom. The picture itself showed a man being pinned to the brick wall of a building by none other than Dekker. Another look at the date told Mike that this had happened after Serena's kidnapping.

Mike scrunched up the paper and with a roar he tossed it across the room. Scruffy, excited at this game of fetch, raced after the paper and snatched it up again in his mouth. He raced back to Mike and dropped the balled up newspaper at his feet, hoping for a round two.

The green Ranger wasn't focused on Scruffy. He was too wound up. Dekker had been trying to get the Rangers to trust him so he could spend time with Serena. He had spent most of his time in the Shiba House trying to convince the Rangers that he would never do anything to hurt Serena. Mike had to wonder if that was true. He couldn't help but think of reasons Dekker would swear his loyalty to Serena, and then leave her in her time of need, and reasons why he would go into town while she was suffering and kill an innocent man. Mike couldn't think of any reason or excuse good enough to justify Dekker's actions. He knew if the tables were turned and, God-forbid, if anything happened to Emily, nothing could tear him away from her side. Not his teammates, not the Nighlok, nothing. And he would never, NEVER, kill an innocent man. He knew Emily would never approve and it would terrify her to know that the man willing to stand by her side could be so vicious.

To Mike, Dekker had just revealed his true nature. He was a monster, through and through. He wanted nothing but blood, and he wouldn't be satisfied until he got what he wanted. Mike couldn't, wouldn't, trust him with Serena or any of his friends.

"Mike!"

Mike was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a voice calling his name and saw a hand waving in front of his face. He shook his head and turned up to Kevin.

"What?" he snapped. Kevin stepped back slightly at Mike's harsh tone.

"It's late. I thought you would be back from the girls' room five minutes ago. What's keeping you?"

Mike reached down and grabbed the newspaper. He straightened it out and ignored the dog drool as he showed it to Kevin. The blue Ranger groaned, closed his eyes and shook his head.

"That monster…"

"That monster's got his sights set on Serena," Mike nodded. "Nothing good can come of this."

"And I thought you were bad boyfriend material. Boy was I stupid."

"This duel's got to happen," Mike clenched the paper in his hands and he knew he was moments away from tearing it to pieces. "Jayden better be ready to kill him…"

"Jayden? I'll kill him myself!" Kevin said, cracking his knuckles. "If he thinks we'll buy that love story he's selling, he's…"

Kevin was interrupted when the boys heard someone clearing their throat and a cane hitting the ground. They turned around and saw Mentor Ji standing in the doorway in his nightclothes (which looked similar to the kimono he walked around in all day).

"Shouldn't you boys be in bed?" he asked, though Mike and Kevin knew that was a serious demand for them to get their asses into bed.

"Sorry Mentor. We just saw this and got a little worked up," Mike held up the newspaper for Mentor to see, "Though I think its obvious why."

"Yes, it's unfortunate that the Nighlok killed a man…"

"Nighlok?" Kevin interrupted. He pointed to the picture, "Mentor, that's clearly…"

"You are always so quick to judge, Kevin," Mentor shook his head. "Now off to bed, both of you."

"But…"

"Bed," Mentor demanded.

Grudgingly, Kevin and Mike set off for bed. When they were sure Mentor couldn't hear them, they turned to each other.

"Dude, think Mentor's got this deal with Dekker?" Mike asked.

"Mia did say that he and Dekker spoke alone for like… five minutes."

"You don't think Dekker's brainwashed Mentor into believing his fairy tale, do you?"

Kevin shook his head, "Never. Mentor Ji's completely loyal to the Samurai. I trust him."

"Then what do you think he knows?" Mike asked. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Mentor Ji was still watching him and Kevin.

The blue Ranger opened the bedroom door, "Something. And he's not telling us."

"He better tell us soon," Mike frowned.


	169. Serena Wants Dekker

Serena had tears streaming down her face as she woke up again and found herself still lying in her sister's bed in the Shiba House. She had just come out of another nasty dream where her friends killed Dekker, not because he was locked in a duel to the death with Jayden, but because they found out that she and Dekker liked each other and they were out for blood.

As she came to, she started to wonder where Dekker had been. The last thing she had seen before being rescued was Dekker's face, so he obviously knew she was safe, but he hadn't come to visit her at all, and the other Rangers avoided his name. Almost like the sound of the letters D-E-K-K-E-R would destroy the world.

It was still early morning, with the sun barely peeking out from the horizon. Serena knew it would probably be a while before Mia and Emily woke up, and longer still before Mike came in for his morning visit. But she needed them. She needed someone to tell her where Dekker had gone. Why he wasn't with her in her time of need.

Suddenly, Serena heard the bedroom door open and she slowly and painfully turned her head to see who could possibly be coming into the _girls' _bedroom when all the girls were sleeping soundly in their beds. To Serena's relief, it was only Emily, who had gotten up before Serena was pulled from her nightmare. She was dragging Scruffy into the room with her, so Serena could only assume the dog needed something from Emily and had somehow woken her up.

Emily never looked Serena's way, thinking her sister would be still be sleeping. There was no need to check up on Serena when she was resting unless one of her monitors started acting up. Serena wanted her sister's attention, and she knew there was only one way to get it.

She opened her mouth to speak.

"D…Dek… Dek…"

Emily heard the stammering and her actions stopped. She glanced over at Mia, thinking her Ranger sister was talking in her sleep, but Mia was out like a light, completely gone to the rest of the world and her lips weren't moving at all.

She looked down at Scruffy. There was no way her dog could have started making human noises unless there was some magic involved. Emily believed in magic, but she still doubted her dog would be speaking.

That meant there was only one person who could be making that noise. Emily's head whipped around as she cast a glance over at her sister's bed.

"Serena!" she cried, not caring if her voice would wake Mia or pull Scruffy from his resting period. She rushed over to her sister's bedside as Serena continued to struggle with her word. The tears on her cheeks were still fresh and a new river was threatening to spill over as Serena's panic and frustration grew.

Finally, she got her first word out: "Dekker…"

"He's gone," Emily promised. She wiped her sister's tears away and stroked her hair gently. "He's gone. You're safe now."

Serena didn't know what Emily meant by gone. Had Dekker left, or did they kill him? Either way, she didn't like her options.

"Dekker…" she said again, trying to force her sister to elaborate. Emily shook her head. Now the tears were starting to well up in her eyes. Serena was finally conscious enough to talk and all she could say, all she wanted to say, was Dekker's name.

"He left, Serena," Emily assured her sister. "We won't let him hurt you."

"No…" Serena shook her head wildly, thankful she could move her neck. "I w… I wan… want…"

"What?" Emily jumped the gun a little. She probably should have waited for her sister to get her words out, but she was too impatient. If Serena was asking for Dekker, Emily wanted to know why. "What do you want?"

"Dekker."

"You want… No," Emily refused. "Serena, he's dangerous! I mean, he's Dekker! Why do you want him?"

"I…" Serena looked away. She couldn't answer that question, not because she was still too injured and sick, but because she knew it would make her sister angry and it would break Emily's heart. She didn't want to do that to her sister, and she didn't want to put Dekker in danger. She was still torn between the two but she knew one thing was clear: she didn't want either of them to get hurt.

"Why, Serena?" a tear fell from Emily's cheek onto Serena's arm. Serena looked down at it sadly as Emily continued to speak. "Why do you want Dekker? You're here with me and everyone else! You're safe and you're home. You can't want Dekker."

Serena reached for Emily's hand and finally looked back up into her sister's eyes.

"Please," she asked.

Emily growled and pulled her hand away from her sister. She looked at her sister one more time before sighing and shaking her head sadly. She couldn't say no to her sick sister's wishes. She had learned that a long time ago.

"Fine," she muttered. "He left his stupid sword behind anyways so I guess he would be coming back anyways. I mean, how dangerous could it be, finding a mad man? It's not like he wants to kill us or anything!"

Serena easily picked up on the sarcasm in her sister's voice but she was thankful Emily was going to find Dekker. She hoped Dekker was still faithful to her and he wouldn't hurt Emily, especially when Emily told him she would take him to see Serena. It was a bit of a risky mission for her to send her sister on, but she needed to see Dekker.

"Unless you want to cause a worldwide panic," Emily continued, turning to her sister one last time before leaving as she grabbed Scruffy's collar and pulled him with her. There was no way she was going out to find Dekker on her own, "I suggest you don't tell the others where I went. Seriously, they would all go mad."

Serena nodded, promising her sister she wouldn't say a word. It was one of the easiest promises she would ever have to keep because even if she wanted to break it, she couldn't. She didn't exactly have a way with words.

But she did want to say something to her sister. A thank you, or _'I owe you', _or something that would show her gratitude to her little sister, but those words couldn't come out of her mouth.

Thankfully, something did.

"L…love y-you."

"Yeah, yeah," Emily nodded, clipping Scruffy's leash onto his collar. "Love you too. I promise I'll try to bring back your stupid Romeo."

Emily slammed the door loudly as she left, as if she wanted to wake up the entire house and have them wonder where she went. Serena waited a while to see if anyone had heard the door in their sleep. Mia was starting to stir, but she couldn't hear anything else in the house.

"What was that?" Mia asked, lifting her head off her pillow and turning to where Emily usually slept while they were sharing a bed, but Emily wasn't there.

"Scruffy…" Serena was proud she managed to mutter a lie. She was hoping her few words would be able to convince Mia and possibly the rest of the house, that Emily had left to take Scruffy on a walk to clear her head.

"Serena?" Mia turned to Serena when she heard the sound of the older Samurai's voice. It was weak but it was still one of the most beautiful sounds Mia could wake up to given what had happened to Serena.

The pink Ranger leapt out of bed and raced across the room to see Serena, "You're… you're talking?"

Serena nodded her head. Apparently she had managed to distract Mia instead of lie to her. Either way was fine with her, as long as no one tried to stop Emily.

"This is great!" Mia smiled, taking Serena's hand. "You're talking! It's progress! It's… what can you say?"

Serena shrugged her shoulders. Words were more of an _in the moment_ kind of thing. She didn't exactly have a complex vocabulary, and the one word she knew she could mutter, Dekker, wasn't a word she thought Mia would want to hear.

"Still," Mia smiled encouragingly, "You said something. That's good enough for me. How are you feeling? Do you need anything?"

Serena shook her head, "Emily…"

She was pretty proud of herself for that one. Finally she could say her sister's name, and she could keep her sister on her mission.

Mia turned to her bed, remembered Emily was missing, and then turned back to Serena.

"Emily's taking care of you, huh?" Mia asked. Serena was thankful that was what Mia understood. She realised her one word could have been taken as Serena wanting Emily, and that would only lead Mia to search the house for the youngest Samurai. Serena nodded her head and looked back at Mia's bed. Again, Mia understood what Serena wanted.

"Are you sure you're okay, though?" Mia asked. "I could stay here with you until Emily gets back…"

Serena shook her head. Emily would be gone a while.

"F-fine," she stammered out. "S-s-sleep."

"Okay…" Mia walked back to her bed and crawled in. "If you need anything, though…"

Serena smiled and nodded her head.

-Samurai-

"Stupid sister," Emily pouted as she walked through the forest. Scruffy stuck by her side loyally, enjoying this stroll through the woods in the early morning. He loved being outside with his owner.

Emily wasn't as happy as her dog. She was on a search for the man who terrified her, all because Serena wanted to see him for reasons Emily would never understand. Did her sister somehow forget Dekker was trying to kill them all, and he would likely kill her too once he was done with her? Did Serena not realise just how much danger she was putting herself in by staying close to Dekker?

Emily huffed loudly and looked down at her dog, "You're lucky, Scruffers. You've got what, six, seven siblings? And yet you never have to run around a dark, creepy forest searching for their stupid lover. You don't even know them!"

Scruffy picked up a big stick from the ground and continued walking with the stick in his mouth. Emily rolled her eyes.

"In fact, you don't even care who your siblings fall in love with. You're lucky. Right now, I wish I didn't care."

Scruffy suddenly got caught between two trees when the stick he was carrying horizontally in his mouth was too long to fit between them. Emily stared at her dog and watched him ram the stick over and over again into the trees. She rolled her eyes.

"You know, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results," she told the dog. "I'm convinced there's something wrong in your head. Yes, I'm just saying that because it's way too early in the morning, I'm searching for the man who nearly beat me to death and I'm a little crazy myself for talking to a dog. More crazy because the dog isn't even listening to me!"

Upon hearing his owner raising her voice, Scruffy turned his head (the stick following his every move) and looked up at Emily with his puppy eyes. He stared at her for a few moments before turning back and trying again to get the stick to fit. Emily shook her head.

"You've got the attention span of a flea," she muttered, "and the intelligence of one too. It's never going to…"

Just before Emily could say it, Scruffy rammed the stick into the two trees and managed to snap it in half. Now the pieces were broken and they were finally small enough to fit between the trees. Scruffy picked one half up in his mouth and walked between the two trees proudly.

Emily slapped her hand to her face and sighed, "Only you would manage to make insanity work in your favour. What's up with that stick, anyways? There's plenty more beyond the two trees, you know."

She reached down to pick up the other half before following her dog through the rest of the forest. She played with the stick in her hand, hoping she would be able to find Dekker before too long.


	170. Bringing Home The Boyfriend

Dekker had set up camp away from the humans, hoping he would be able to avoid taking another life needlessly as when his Nighlok half took over, as it had done several times since he had left Dayu. Thankfully, Dekker had figured out the cure. It wasn't a quick fix, but thinking of Serena would suppress the Nighlok half and empower his human side. As long as he kept her in mind, he knew he could keep control.

But the more he thought of her, the more he was reminded of the Rangers, and they fuelled his anger, which caused him to lose control and give into his Nighlok half. It was an endless cycle of back and forth, and Dekker was growing tired. He knew soon he would need to head back and face the Rangers. He had a sword to take back and he had to check up on Serena. Surely something should have happened to her by now, and good or bad, he wanted to know.

As he sat on a rock he heard the leaves rustling behind him and a voice speaking. He could hardly make out the words but considering there was only one voice he assumed there was only one person. He turned to the source of the noise as the yellow Ranger stepped out from the trees.

"You know, last I heard, talking to yourself was a sign of insanity," Dekker smirked, grabbing the yellow Ranger's attention.

Emily looked up at him before pointing to her dog, "Well, first of all, I've already labeled myself as crazy. Secondly, I'm talking to my dog."

"Why are you here?" Dekker asked. "Come to apologize?"

Emily shook her head. She would never apologize to Dekker. She hated him too much. As he got up from his stool she took a step back, comfortable with the distance between them.

"No, but Serena's awake. She's asking for you. I don't know why, and I don't think I want to know, but I can't exactly say no to her when she's sick and injured, so I came to find your stupid butt."

"You still don't like me," Dekker chuckled.

"I take it you're not very fond of me either. So cut the crap and follow me home."

"You're confident," Dekker pointed out. "It's a side I've never really seen of you."

"I'm not confident," Emily crossed her arms. "I'm on a mission for my sister. And you're not going to hurt me because if you do you know that you'll never, ever, see my sister again. The Rangers won't let you and she won't want to see you. Unless it was to kill you."

"You do not have to worry," Dekker nodded his head, "I have no intention of killing you today."

"Today?" Emily's voice squeaked. Again, Dekker nodded.

"Of course. I have been open about my want for a duel with the red Ranger, and it's obvious I would have to go through all you other Rangers before I can get to him. Personally, I love a challenge."

"I noticed," Emily replied. She turned back to the Shiba House, "Well, you can either come or you can stay here. I don't care. I did my best."

"I will come with you," Dekker answered, getting up from the stone he had been sitting on. He approached Emily and noticed her quiver as he got closer to her. He chuckled, "Relax, I won't hurt you."

"I don't trust you. Walk in front of me."

Dekker smirked. He couldn't help toying with the yellow Ranger.

"I would rather stay behind you."

"No," Emily shook her head. "I want to be able to see you; just in case you try something."

Dekker stood over Emily, never intending to harm her, but he loved scaring her.

"Are you really in a position to make demands?" he grabbed her wrist and shoved her forward, "Lead me home, yellow Ranger."

Emily gripped the leash tightly in her hand and looked down at her dog as she led Dekker back to the Shiba House.

"I hate my sister," she muttered to Scruffy. He looked up at her, his stick still in his mouth. Emily rolled her eyes, "Who am I kidding. You don't understand me. You love everyone…"

-Samurai-

Mike knocked on the girls' bedroom door and checked the time on his watch. 7:00 AM, right on time like every morning. He heard a groan from the other side of the door before feet hit the floor and they were dragged across the hardwood until they reached the door. Mike smiled at a half-asleep Mia.

"You can't yell at me, you knew I was coming."

"Yeah, yeah," Mia invited Mike into the room. Mike looked over at Serena's bed and saw the eldest Samurai was still sleeping, like she usually was when he first arrived. He turned to Mia who was crawling back into bed.

"Anything happen overnight?"

Suddenly, Mia perked up, remembering what had happened only a few hours ago, before she had fallen back to sleep.

"Serena spoke," she grinned happily. "She managed to mutter a few words. It was amazing!"

"She spoke?" Mike was pleased to hear that. He wanted Serena to have a full recovering, and speech was one step closer to his goal. He turned to her bed and smiled at her sleeping form. "Dude! I wish I could have heard it. Did Emily…"

Mike paused when he turned to Emily's side of Mia's bed and noticed the yellow Ranger was missing. This was unusual. Emily was always in the room when he came to visit in the morning. She was usually just waking up.

"Where's Emily?" he asked.

"She's taking care of…" it was Mia's turn to stop when she realised her answer had most likely expired. Surely it couldn't have taken a couple of hours to get Serena whatever she needed. The Shiba House was big, but it wasn't that big. She looked to Mike and shrugged her shoulders, "Uh… I don't know. Did you see her on your way?"

Mike shook his head, "Nope."

"Kitchen?" Mia asked as she hopped off her bed and raced to the kitchen. Mike was right behind her.

Mentor Ji was in the kitchen making breakfast. He smiled at the two Rangers but they didn't return it.

"Have you seen Emily?" Mike asked.

Mentor shook his head, "Is she not in her room?"

"Oh, you know what, I forgot to check there," Mia responded sarcastically. Mentor chuckled. The pink Ranger had never been a morning person.

"Perhaps she went outside with the boys," he gestured to the training yard. "Kevin, Jayden and Antonio are all awake."

Mia and Mike nodded before racing to the window to see for themselves if they could find Emily. They saw Jayden, Kevin and Antonio, but there was no sign of Emily.

"Okay, freaky," Mike turned to Mia, "Where do you think she…?"

The front door opened and Mike and Mia turned. Both were wondering who would have left the house at such an early hour. They saw Emily walk in with Scruffy and sighed in relief, but it was short lived when Dekker walked in behind her.

Mia was about to have a heart attack. Mike was ready to kill both Emily and Dekker. Dekker, because he was Dekker, and Emily for going off on her own with him.

He marched over to Emily and ripped her away from Dekker before slamming the taller man into the wall. He pointed out the door.

"Get out of my house!" he screamed. Dekker shoved him back.

"I was invited," he said as he looked to Emily. Mike felt his girlfriend touching his arm and he pulled away from her.

"Mike!"

"Shut up, Emily!" Mike roared. He shoved her over to Mia, "What the hell were you thinking?"

Mia caught Emily in her arms as the younger girl stumbled backwards. She held the yellow Ranger protectively while Emily looked to Dekker.

"You can go see Serena…" she muttered. Dekker nodded and took a step forward, but he was forced backwards by an angry Mike.

"No!" he shouted. He looked over to Emily and then back to Dekker, "No way in hell am I going to let you see Serena!"

All of Mike's yelling had drawn Mentor, Jayden, Antonio and Kevin away from their activities and into the hallway. They were all stunned to see Dekker in their home and the Ranger boys adopted a fighting stance.

"What are you doing here?" Jayden asked.

"I was invited," Dekker told Jayden the same thing he told Mike. The green Ranger shook his head.

"No, you weren't," he knew there was no way in hell Emily would ever invite Dekker into her home, "What did you do to her?"

"Who?" Dekker asked. Mike grabbed him by the shirt and rammed him into the wall.

"What did you do to Emily?"

Dekker shoved Mike away easily and straightened out his shirt. "I did nothing. She found me."

"Liar!" Mike lunged for Dekker again.

"Mike!" Emily shouted. "He's telling the truth! Let him go!"

Mike glared at Dekker for a moment before stepping away. Dekker smirked and bumped Mike as he walked past and made his way, uninterrupted, to Serena's room.

Mia let go of Emily and the yellow Ranger carefully walked over to Mike, "I had to…"

"Get away from me," Mike growled, turning away from Emily and storming off. Emily watched him leave and lower her head.

Kevin sighed, "Right now would be a really bad time to tell you what Mike and I found out, huh?"

"Maybe," Antonio nodded. "Unless it's good news."

Kevin shook his head. Jayden let out a deep breath.

"Just say it anyways. Things can't get any worse."

"You're going to regret saying that," Kevin sighed. "Last night Mike and I found out Dekker killed a man in the streets. It was caught on tape and in the newspaper."

"I will get the paper from the recycling," Mentor said before leaving the room.

Mia looked up at her boyfriend, as did the three other Rangers.

"Dekker did what?" she asked.

"Killed an innocent man. Totally unmotivated too. He just… tossed him around and bashed his skull into a brick wall before leaving him for dead."

Antonio's eyes were wide, "And he's in there alone with…"

"Serena asked for him," Emily whispered. "Dekker won't hurt her. He won't hurt any of us. Today."

"Okay, let's believe for a minute that he wouldn't hurt her," Kevin nodded. "Who's to say he won't hurt us? He killed an innocent man, Emily! He wouldn't hesitate to bash your skull in! He's done it once before, remember?"

"Barely," Emily shrugged. "Look, I don't like this either. But Serena asked for him. I couldn't say no."

"Yeah, you could," Mia nodded. "You should have refused! Emily, Serena's sick…"

"I know!"

"Dekker's mad!"

"She wanted him. She trusts him. I can't do anything about it. I hate it, but if he makes her feel better… I have to do it! I want her to feel better."

"She won't be feeling very good when Dekker kills you," Kevin muttered under his breath, though the Rangers all heard him. "You should never have gotten him, Em. Especially alone!"

Emily glared at her older brother, "This is my family. I'll make the decision and I'll take care of it."

"We're all family, Emily," Kevin retorted. "We all want what's best for Serena."

"So stop yelling at me!" Emily screamed.

"I'm going to go keep an eye on Dekker," Mia said, pulling Kevin and Emily apart. "Emy, you better go apologize to Mike."

"Fine," Emily turned away from her friends, "but Serena better apologize to me when she's done with Dekker."


	171. Mike's Biggest Fear

Serena was pulled from her sleep when the bedroom door creaked slightly and she opened her eyes to see Dekker walking into the room. She offered him a smile as he slowly approached the bed. He stole one of the chairs from the corner of the room and took a seat beside Serena. He took her hand gently.

"Your sister filled me in on the way home," he told her. "I know I must be patient with you."

Serena nodded her head, "S-s… slow… rec-covery."

"Take your time," Dekker smiled. He kissed her hand softly, "Dayu hurt you. I'm glad you're alive but you seem to be suffering a fate worse than…"

"S-stop," Serena interrupted. Dekker frowned before thinking he understood what she meant. He nodded.

"I'm sorry. You do not want to talk about…"

"No," Serena shook her head in a manner that told Dekker there was something else bothering her. She didn't care much for Dayu at this point. The bitch would get what was coming to her eventually; Serena would make sure of it. She had something else on her mind. "I… I…"

"What?"

"You… Rangers… safe… please…"

It wasn't actually a sentence, or anything close to a sentence, really, but Serena was hoping Dekker would understand what she wanted. She knew it was no use trying to talk to the Samurai about making peace with Dekker. As long as the warrior wanted to kill them, they were right to keep their guard up. If she wanted peace, Dekker needed to make the first move.

"I… I don't understand," Dekker frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

Serena felt like she was choking on her words. There was so much she wanted to say, but very little was coming out of her mouth.

"No… fight…"

"Serena, Urumasa…"

"Please," Serena looked at Dekker with pleading eyes. Dekker felt himself caving completely. He squeezed her hand gently and nodded his head.

"You don't want me to fight the Rangers?"

Serena smiled.

Dekker took a deep breath and sighed, "I cannot speak for Urumasa… but as long as I am in control… I would never do anything to hurt you."

Serena's eyes were getting heavy and Dekker could tell she was about to fall asleep. He let go of her hand and placed it gently on her bed before getting up out of his seat. He leaned over and kissed her forehead just as her eyes shut.

He had made her a promise, one he intended not to break. As long as he was human he would never intentionally do anything that would hurt Serena in anyways. He knew exactly what that meant. He needed to keep her safe and he needed to keep her family safe.

However, his human half was only half of him. There was still his Nighlok half to consider, as well as Urumasa's hunger for the perfect duel.

Now Dekker was torn. He didn't want to lose Serena, but he couldn't stop being a Nighlok, no matter how much he wanted to stop.

It was at that moment that the pink Ranger walked in. Her gaze was fixed on Dekker the moment her eyes appeared in the room. She grabbed a book from her night table and laid back on her bed.

Dekker looked to the door and then to the pink Ranger, "She is sleeping. I will…"

"One wrong move, Dekker, and you're out of this house for good," Mia growled. "I'll make sure you never check in again."

-Samurai-

Emily found Mike in the dojo. He was beating the hell out of the training dummy and Emily could see he was consumed with rage. She stood in the door, watching him, afraid he would turn on her if she got too close.

Mike finally spotted her standing there and he stopped his assault on the dummy. He turned his back to her and went to grab a water bottle from the bench.

"Whatever you're going to say, I don't want to hear it, Em," he told her. "Nothing you can say will change the way I feel."

"Mike…" cautiously she stepped into the room. He wasn't beating up the dummy anymore, so she felt a little bit safer, but the tension was still so thick.

He whipped around and yelled, "What?"

"Serena…"

"Serena this, Serena that," Mike rolled his eyes. "Serena's not all-knowing, Emily! I know it comes as a huge shock to you, but sometimes she makes mistakes! She fucks up. Just like you, me and everyone else in this goddamn house!"

"Please don't yell," Emily whimpered. She hated when Mike yelled. He was a different person. He was someone she couldn't love when he lost his temper like this.

"I'm pissed, Em! I'll yell if I want to," Mike shouted. "Just because Serena says so you do what? You put your fucking life in danger? Do you even realise who you went after today? You were totally alone, completely defenseless, because, let's face it, Dekker can kick your ass even when you're morphed, and you didn't tell a damn soul in this house where you were going! What if something happened? You could have gotten yourself killed."

"But I didn't…"

"You're so fucking stupid, Em," Mike rolled his eyes. "You don't know what's going to happen! You don't know what kind of danger you'll face out there on your own! You got lucky, Em! That's all it was!"

"Stop yelling," Emily covered her ears. She didn't want to listen to him when he yelled.

"Just get out!" Mike shouted, throwing his water bottle across the room. The cap flew off when it hit the wall and water sprayed everywhere. Emily was terrified at this point and took off running, but not before bumping into Antonio on the way out. She apologized quickly and raced past him.

Antonio saw the water bottle on the floor by the door, and he had noticed the tears in Emily's eyes. When he looked at Mike, he saw the green Ranger's face was red with rage. Sighing, he picked up the water bottle and screwed the cap back on.

"She wasn't trying to scare you," he said. Mike looked over at Antonio and scoffed.

"Whatever."

"That's why you're so pissed, right?" Antonio asked. "Because you were scared?"

"Do I look like I want to talk about this?" Mike glared at Antonio as the gold Ranger offered the water bottle back. He snatched it from Antonio's hands. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to train."

"I was scared," Antonio admitted. "When I saw Dekker in the house I was pretty freaked. I was scared for Jayden, obviously. I was scared for myself, for Serena, for you, Mia, Kevin, Emily…. And I'll be honest I was a little scared for Dekker."

"So you're a scaredy-cat," Mike rolled his eyes. "Glad we figured that out. Now get out."

"Kevin told us what Dekker did; killing that innocent man," Antonio continued, ignoring Mike's demands. "It wasn't right and it's terrifying to know that we're only a few rooms apart from a murderer. It's probably even more terrifying to know that your girlfriend, the girl you love more than anything and anyone else, was alone with him soon after the murder."

"He could have killed her," Mike fell onto the bench and rolled his head back, trying to stop the tears. "He could have easily killed her before we even knew she was missing. It was stupid."

"It was," Antonio nodded. "It was so, so, so stupid. Actually, stupid doesn't even begin to describe how stupid it was. If Rangers get a yearbook, she's got my vote for most likely to fail the stupid test… or pass… I'm not sure which would be stupider…"

"Antonio, please stop talking," Mike muttered. Antonio shook his head and took a seat next to Mike on the bench. He wrapped his arm around Mike's shoulder and pulled him into a hug.

"I know you care about her. You don't want to see anything happen to her. I'm not even going to pretend like I know what it's like to feel that strongly for another person. But… I guess… you're allowed to be mad but I doubt you want to lose her again, right. Take a deep breath, beat up a few more dummies, and when you're calm, go explain things to her. She's a stupid kid, but she's also pretty smart. I'm sure she'll understand."

Mike pulled away from Antonio and wiped the tears from his eyes quickly, as it he was ashamed of the fact that he was crying in front of Antonio. The gold Ranger could understand the tears. He knew Mike was terrified, but he decided to laugh off Mike's attempt at remaining macho.

"Dude, you're totally crying."

"Shut up, Antonio," Mike shook his head.

Antonio smirked and pointed to Mike's cheeks, "Look, little Mike tears. Aww, is Mikey crying?"

"Antonio," Mike couldn't help but chuckle. He knew Antonio was only teasing and trying to get a laugh, and honestly that knowledge was the only thing keeping the gold Ranger alive.

"What?"

"I don't feel like seeing Dekker and there's no way I'm laying a hand on Emily," Mike said, "I could easily trade one of the beating dummies for you and make you cry."

Antonio sealed his lips, "Shutting up."

The gold Ranger gave Mike a quick pat on the leg before getting up and heading out to let Mike vent his anger a little more; but just as he reached the door he heard his name being called.

"Yeah, Mike?"

"Thanks. It always helps to hear a calm, outside voice."

Antonio smirked and shrugged, "I had nothing better to do. Jayden's off guarding Urumasa. Kevin's fuming because Dekker's back. Mia's keeping an eye on big bad and who really wants to hang with Mentor? The dude's almost as ancient as Dekker."


	172. Understanding The Other Side

Dekker walked down the hallways to the common room. Serena had fallen asleep and so there was no need for him to sit by her side anymore. But he wasn't going to leave the house. Not again. No matter how hard the Rangers tried to kick him out, he intended on staying until Serena was recovered.

He heard footsteps walking up behind him and he turned around. Just because he promised he would never intentionally hurt the Rangers, didn't mean they wouldn't hurt him. He kept his guard up as he turned and saw the red Ranger walking into the room with Urumasa.

Jayden tossed the sword at Dekker's feet, "Take the blade and get out."

Dekker picked up Urumasa, happy it was back in his possession again. Life was so much easier with his sword by his side.

"I'm not leaving," he told the red Ranger.

Jayden furrowed his brow, "You saw Serena, and you've got your sword back. Get out before you tear my family apart."

"I am here for Serena," Dekker turned his back to Jayden. "The rest of you Rangers may as well be dead, for all I care."

Jayden summoned his Spin Sword, "Talk like that again," he pointed the sword to the back of Dekker's head, "and we'll see what happens."

"I do not want to duel you now, red Ranger," Dekker shook his head. "Neither you nor I are at our best. The battle would be pathetic and quick. I will wait until Serena is recovered and I have figured everything out."

"We'll give you a call," Jayden growled. "Get out."

"I would like a room."

"How about a coffin?"

"A room. Inside or outside," Dekker shrugged, "as long as I have access to Serena, I'll sleep anywhere."

"I'm sure there is a tent in Canada somewhere. How about you sleep there?"

"I feel I would be more productive speaking with your Mentor," Dekker muttered. He got to his feet and headed off to Mentor Ji's room. Jayden ran his hands through his hair and groaned loudly.

"Stupid son of a bitch…"

-Samurai-

"Knock, knock," Kevin called as he pushed the bedroom door open with his shoulder and walked in with a tray. He looked over at Mia, and then Serena, "Mentor made soup."

Mia put her book down, "Serena's sleeping. Just leave it by her bed."

"You'll take yours?" Kevin asked, doing as he was told with Serena's bowl. Mia smiled and nodded her head.

"I love Mentor's soup."

Kevin handed her a bowl, "So, did anything happen? You know… Dekker and Serena…"

"I have no idea," Mia shrugged her shoulders. "Dekker was already on his way out when I got here. Serena fell asleep and I guess he didn't want to stick around."

"Probably not," Kevin nodded. He glanced back at Serena, "I wonder what's going on between them."

"Dekker's got a thing for her," Mia said. She rolled her eyes, "I think we've all figured that out."

"But if Serena was asking for him…"

"I'm going to pretend like that she didn't really know what she was doing," Mia said. "I mean, we have no idea what really happened when Dayu took her, and the last thing Serena probably remembered, aside from the kidnapping, was living with Dekker. For all we know she could have just been wondering how she got from Japan to here and where Dekker was. I don't trust him as far as I can throw him, and Serena probably feels the same."

"Leaving him at the Tengen Gate would probably scare me," Kevin nodded his head in agreement. "I would ask for him too, if I were in her position."

"We really don't know her side of the story yet," Mia sighed. "But after everything she's been through, I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. You know, working with Dekker, letting him kidnap Emily, training with him… I'm sure she's got some plan or something and she wants to help us."

"Hopefully," Kevin took a seat beside Mia on the bed and wrapped his arms around her as she ate her soup. They were cuddled up together, enjoying the silence and the alone time, when the door opened again and a teary Emily walked in. Mia and Kevin sighed, exchanged annoyed looks, and turned to Emily.

"What happened?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders and looked for a place to sit. Serena was sleeping and Emily wanted to leave it that way so her bed was out of the question. Kevin and Mia seemed to be cuddling, so getting closer to them was out of the question, and the chair by her sister's bed had been moved and sat on by Dekker. There was no way Emily would sit there.

So she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Mike's mad at me."

"Yeah," Kevin nodded his head. "We kind of got that."

"He won't even listen to me," Emily muttered. "I tried talking to him but he kept yelling."

"Maybe if you give him some time to calm down," Mia suggested. "I'm guessing, like the rest of us, he nearly died of fright when you walked in with Dekker."

"He didn't hurt me," Emily shrugged, "and it's not like I trust him or anything. But Serena was asking for him and… I couldn't say no."

"We all wish you had," Kevin admitted. He glanced at Serena before turning back to Emily, "but I guess… thinking about it… I understand."

"Me too," Mia nodded. "I'm getting you a bell to wear now so you don't run off on me again, but I understand why you left."

"Do you want a little advice for Mike?" Kevin asked. "I'm sure when you do get through to him you're not going to have an easy talk and you can probably use all the help you can get."

"What?" Emily asked.

Mia pushed herself off the bed, holding her now empty bowl of soup.

"I'm sensing a moment here," she smirked. "I'll just go put this away."

She gave Kevin a kiss before leaving the room. Kevin sat up straight in the bed and crossed his legs before patting the spot on the mattress in front of him. Emily walked over and took a seat.

"What?" she asked again.

"I'd kill for Mia," Kevin said. "It's a bad choice of words given what Dekker did to that poor man, but it's true. If her safety and happiness required me to put someone, anyone, six feet under, I would do it."

"I kind of got that," Emily nodded. "You and Mike are the same that way… except with black flies. Mike couldn't kill a black fly to save his or my life. They creep him out."

"Good to know," Kevin smirked. He took Emily's hand, "Look, kid, there's nothing I want more than to keep Mia safe. I love her so much… it's… I can't explain it. If anything were to happen to her, you have my full permission to kill me. I don't care how painful or slow my death is, I would rather face that than a day without Mia."

"Are you going to marry her?"

"Focus," Kevin laughed. "Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"

"You love Mia?"

"Yes."

"You want her safe?"

"Yes."

"No matter what?"

"Yes."

"And Mike's the same way?"

Kevin chuckled and ruffled Emily's hair, "Smart kid."

"Mike doesn't seem to think so," Emily muttered. Kevin took her hand.

"You scared him. I'm guessing he was looking around the house for you just before you got home. He must have noticed you weren't in your room when he went to visit Serena. He was probably already scared when he thought you were just gone, and then that probably doubled or tripled or whatever when he saw you with the man who wants to kill all of us, and who, very recently, killed some poor guy on the street."

"So, what's your advice then?" Emily asked. "You said you were going to give me advice."

Kevin nodded his head, "When you do finally talk to Mike, consider how you would feel in his shoes. I know that's not very hard for you to do. Remember what it felt like when Serena was with Dekker? Remember what it felt like when you were scared you could lose Mike?"

"Yeah."

"That'll help you understand," Kevin smiled. He gave Emily a pat on the shoulder as he got up from the bed, "Oh, and if you do that cute, innocent _'I'm sorry'_ face, he won't be able to stay mad at you for long. Maybe throw in a few looks that tell him he scares you when he yells and you'll have him back in your pocket in no time. I guarantee it."

"Thanks, Kevin," Emily bounced up and hugged the blue Ranger. He chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

"Oh, and if he yells at you again, let me know," he said. "I'll only give him this one pass because even I wanted to yell at you when you brought Dekker home."


	173. Relationships

"Why do you insist on staring at me?" Dekker asked, barely glancing over his shoulder as he spoke to Mia. She was standing over him, keeping a careful eye on him and Serena as he sat by her bedside and watched her sleep. He wouldn't do much else. If he wasn't with Serena in her room, he would be outside training by himself. He was rather withdrawn from the Rangers, just as they liked it, but it still freaked them out that he was spending so much time with Serena.

"Because you insist on having a relationship with my little sister's big sister," Mia snapped back softly so as not to wake the sleeping Serena. Dekker turned around fully when he heard this. He furrowed his brow.

"Are you confused?"

"What?"

"Are you confused? Your little sister's big sister? Is that not weird for you to say? Do you share her?"

"Share who?" Mia frowned. She had no clue what Dekker was rambling on about.

"The yellow Ranger," Dekker specified, "Do you share her with her sister? Is being an older sister a part-time job?"

"I wish…" Mia rolled her eyes as she thought about the early morning wake up calls and the occasional midnight emergencies.

"So, you have no connection to Serena?" Dekker asked. "If she is your little sister's big sister then there is that degree of separation that keeps things from getting too personal. Do you not care for her?"

"Of course I care for her," Mia nodded her head and rolled her eyes. "She's a friend. We all care about her."

"As do I."

"Don't turn this on yourself," the pink Ranger glared at Dekker. "This isn't about you."

"This is about my relationship with Serena," Dekker nodded with a smirk. "You do not approve. I know this already."

"Good, then get lost…"

"Personally, I do not approve of you and the blue Ranger having a relationship. While we're on the subject, I don't approve of green and yellow either."

"What?"

"In your line of work it's too dangerous. You will lose the one you love sooner or later."

"Says the monster who's fallen madly in love with a Samurai," Mia scoffed. "Do you think your little Nighlok family will approve when you bring Serena home?"

"I am no Nighlok," Dekker turned back to Serena and stared at her sleeping face. Mia, again, found herself rolling her eyes.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry. I mistook your big, scary monster costume for a Nighlok body. My bad."

"You sound just like her," Dekker smiled. "It's amazing."

"Like who?" Mia frowned. Dekker looked up at her.

"Serena. She spoke with fire, especially when we first met. Sarcasm, snappy comments… she wasn't afraid of me. It felt good. Right there, you sounded just like her," Dekker gently took Serena's hand, stroking it softly as a tear formed in his eye. "Your mentor told me she would recover, but I can't stand to see her this way."

Mia leaned in closer to Dekker when she thought she saw a tear. Was it possible? Could a Nighlok actually be crying?

"Dekker, you're…"

"I care for her deeply, pink Ranger. I haven't felt this pain in a long time, longer than I can remember. It hurts seeing her so…"

"Are you… are you crying?"

Dekker shook his head and got out of his seat. He walked to the door.

"I will leave you alone with her," he said. "Urumasa still craves a worthy challenger. Unfortunately for you Rangers, there are still some things about myself that I cannot control."

Dekker left the room just as Kevin walked in. The blue Ranger's eyes widened and his jaw nearly hit the floor when he thought he saw something shinning in Dekker's eye. He turned to Mia with a shocked expression and she simply nodded her head.

"Really?" Kevin whispered, keeping his voice low so Dekker wouldn't hear him, even though the warrior was already down the hall.

"He was talking about Serena and how he didn't like to see her hurting and… a tear," Mia said. "I mean… words can lie but a tear?"

"What the hell…?" Kevin breathed, running his hand through his hair.

-Samurai-

Following Antonio's advice, Mike waited until he was calm before confronting Emily again, though he hoped it would be more of a talk than a confrontation.

He found her in the garden, playing her flute for all six folding Zords. She wasn't usually away from her sister unless it was Dekker's turn to visit. She loved her sister, but she couldn't stand to be in the same room as Dekker, no matter the situation, so she always opted to leave when he walked in, and she would use that time to take care of herself.

Mike recognised the song immediately. It was the piece she was composing for her sister; something she intended to play to a sick Serena for when she went home back when her sister was still bedridden. He was happy to see that, though Serena had gotten better, Emily hadn't given up on her song.

He approached her slowly, trying not to make a lot of noise as he did. He took a few deep and calming breaths as he walked and he listened to her speak to the Zords.

"Do you think she'll like it?"

All the Zords started flying around excitedly. Mike chuckled at this display. Emily heard his laugh and turned around.

"Mike!"

"I think she'll love it," he smiled. He pointed to the spot next to her on the bench, "Um… do you mind?"

"Are you going to yell?" Emily asked. "Because I have Kevin on standby if you do…"

"I'll try not to yell, I promise," Mike held one hand up in the air to show he was being honest. Emily accepted this and slid over slightly so he could sit down. Mike did so and found himself taking another long breath. Finally, he turned to her, "You scared me."

"Yeah… I know…"

"No, Em, I don't think you realise how much you scared me," Mike shook his head as he reached over and took Emily's hand, "I don't care what happens to us. I want you happy. I want you safe. I want you living the best life you could possibly live."

"Same," Emily nodded her head slowly. "You're a great guy, you deserve the best…"

"There are a million other guys like me in the world, Em," Mike said. "Believe me; I've met myself quite a few times. Truth be told, I've met a few guys like Jayden too. And some Antonios and a few Kevins. They were all over my high school growing up. The Kevins were the reason why I dropped out. I couldn't stand them."

"Things haven't changed," Emily giggled. "I guess the only difference between those Kevins and ours is that you were forced to like ours."

"It's a complicated relationship," Mike nodded his head. He turned back to Emily, getting back on topic, "I've also met a few Mias too. And, I mean, everyone's unique and those guys are all special to me… but I could find them elsewhere if I were to lose them. I would see them walking down the street, at the bank, in the park, at the movies. I would live next door to… probably a Kevin with my luck. But the thing is… I've never met someone like you. I'm nineteen years old… that's not old, but it's old enough to meet quite a few different people… and I've never, ever, in my entire life, met anyone who could ever compare to you."

Emily lowered her head as she started to blush. Mike was a sweet guy. It was one of the things she loved about him. Like herself, he tended to screw things up, but he was always well-meaning, especially with his friends.

Mike squeezed her hand and she turned to face him again, "Em, the thought of you getting sick, even with the cold, sends shivers down my spine. When you walked in with Dekker… I thought the guys were going to have to lock me up, either in prison or an asylum."

"I get that you were scared," Emily nodded her head. "I was scared out there too. But it was something I needed to do for Serena. I wasn't happy about it… but she asked me and… I couldn't say no. She needed Dekker so… I got him."

Mike wrapped his arms around Emily and held her tight, "I get it. I know Serena's important, and especially now you want to do anything you can for her… but please, don't you dare do that again."

"I won't," Emily promised.

"You know, I would support you, Em. No matter what you need to do. I'll be there for you. If you had just woken me up…"

"You would have told me not to go," Emily muttered into his shoulder.

"I probably would have tried to convince you it was a stupid idea," Mike nodded, "but that wouldn't have stopped you, and I would have followed you. I would have made sure you were safe."

"I don't need protecting…"

"I know," Mike kissed her cheek before pulling away slightly and looking her in the eyes, "but I need to protect you. You're the one thing I can't afford to lose."

"Even over your video games?" Emily smirked. Mike nodded his head.

"Of course," he placed his hand gently behind her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. When they parted, he looked into her eyes, a wide grin on his face. "I love you."

Emily nestled into his arms, "I love you too."


	174. A Turn Around

This morning was an unusual one for the girls of the house. Emily had gotten up earlier than normal and was outside getting a little extra training with Mike and Jayden instead of sitting with her sister. Since Dekker's arrival the Rangers had noticed she had been training harder in an effort to keep her sister safe, but now she was really starting to push it.

Mike was also training a lot more than usual, and he always joked that he was trying to make his big brother Kevin proud. The entire house knew he was just worried about Emily and Serena, especially after hearing the news about Dekker's murder. He still hadn't confronted Dekker about this murder, but he hadn't been anywhere near Dekker since the mad man had walked into the house.

Jayden training wasn't that unusual. However, his partners were. He rarely ever got time to train with Mike and Emily, though he was enjoying the one-on-one time with them.

Mia was left to tend to Serena, and Kevin, without much to do now that Jayden was occupied and Antonio was out fishing, decided to help his girlfriend. At the moment Serena was sleeping and Mia was grabbing the dishes from her night table. Kevin was sitting in a chair in the corner, watching Serena. Just as Mia was about to leave to put the dishes in the kitchen sink he let out a sigh. Immediately, Mia turned around.

"I know."

Kevin held both hands up in the air, mimicking a scale, "Murder… tears… it doesn't add up."

"Unless he's serious about Serena," Mia nodded. "I mean… maybe…"

"He's a Nighlok, Mia," Kevin argued, shaking his head. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back on his seat, "He lives for murder and suffering. Even if he cared for her, he would double cross her in the end."

Mia sighed. She placed the dishes on her bed and walked over to Kevin. She sat on the armrest of his chair and he wrapped his arm around her waist. She looked down at her boyfriend, "You haven't seen him, though… when he's with her, I mean. He's always gentle and calm… When she's awake he tries to make her smile and he just… talks to her. When she's asleep… he looks like a kicked puppy."

"But you're always in the room," Kevin pointed out. "Of course he's going to act like he cares when you're watching. He wants you to trust him."

"He's got a funny way of earning our trust, then," Mia said. "Last night, just like every other night, after Serena fell asleep, he and I started talking. He told me he was still going through with the duel. He told me he needed to do it and he wanted us to be prepared for the fight of our lives."

"Of course. He wants us at our best…"

"No," Mia shook her head, "There's more… he started talking about Serena."

"When doesn't he talk about her?" Kevin rolled his eyes. "Either it's Urumasa, Jayden, or Serena. I wouldn't be surprised if he was crushing on all three."

"Will you shut up and listen?" Mia frowned. "He asked me if we were going to protect her. He told me he couldn't bring himself to hurt her but he knew she would fight him if he put us in danger. He wanted to make sure she was safe and she would live through the duel, so he made me promise I would do what I could to keep her safe. It seemed… genuine."

"Mia, don't be fooled," Kevin said. He pulled her off the armrest and onto his lap, where he then wrapped her up tightly in his arms. "He's playing games. He's trying to get you to lower your guard. He's ready to duel Jayden, and the minute he thinks you're weak he'll strike. I don't want you to be number one."

"It's genuine, Kevin," Mia stated firmly. "You saw it. He cried. He cried for her. He's suffering. A Nighlok, even if he is just half a Nighlok, is suffering. What does that tell you…?"

"Mia…"

"It's just like Dayu," Mia said as she let her thoughts wander. "Back when she was kidnapping the brides. For a moment, when we were alone, I got the feeling that Dayu was suffering as well. There was something about her that…"

"Dayu's evil, Mia," Kevin shook his head. He pointed to the bed, "Look at what she did to Serena! She's heartless! She's a bitch! She's Xandred's go-to-girl, and do you want to know why?"

"Yeah, I do," Mia nodded. She got off Kevin's lap and picked up the dishes from her bed. She walked to the door, but before leaving she turned back to her boyfriend, "Do you think there are any books or scrolls on Dayu?"

"Mia…"

"Know your enemy," Mia smirked. "C'mon, Kev, it can't hurt, right? And don't you think Serena deserves answers?"

Kevin looked at the sleeping Samurai in the bed. Many of her injuries had healed up or were healing up quite nicely as the weeks went by, but she was still bedridden for another little while. At least until she had enough energy to make it to another room without her legs giving in, she would remain in bed and she would be looked after by the rest of the house, Dekker included.

Kevin sighed, "Please don't use that card. You know I have a soft spot for vulnerable people…"

"I won't let Dekker kill me while I study Dayu. I promise," Mia smiled. "Besides, watching her sleep is boring and I'm running out of books. I need something to read."

Kevin grumbled, "Fine. Go do what you have to do."

"Thanks," Mia chirped and rushed out of the room. Kevin sighed, leaned back in his chair and looked at Serena for a moment.

Suddenly, he let out a deep breath, shook his head and got up.

"Wow, this is boring."

-Samurai-

"Accuracy can be a more lethal than power," Dekker commented as he stepped outside onto the training mat while Jayden, Mike and Emily trained. He approached Emily, taking her sword from her hand before striking Mike with very little force, but he hit him in the shoulder, causing Mike to drop his weapon. Dekker looked at Emily, "Your opponent is unarmed and you are now free to swing your final blow. If this were a real duel, the green Ranger would be dead."

"Give her the sword, Dekker," Jayden said. Dekker nodded his head and handed Emily her sword back. The yellow Ranger glared at Dekker as she ripped the weapon from his hand and moved away from him to train elsewhere. Dekker knew she wasn't going to take his advice, but he figured he would offer it. Serena didn't seem to like that he couldn't get along with Emily. After having several talks with the elder sister, Dekker was getting the impression that, like him, Serena was feeling torn. However, unlike him, her problem seemed to be easily solved. He was willing to make her life easier by trying to befriend, or be-frienemy, her little sister. However, Emily didn't seem as eager to please her sister. Dekker wasn't sure if it was because she knew of the conflict and was too selfish to put her own needs aside, or if it was because Serena hadn't yet spoken to her sister about this matter.

Dekker took a step forward, hoping maybe she would at least respond if he talked about her sister, the only thing they seemed to have in common, but Mike stepped in the way.

"Leave her alone."

"You never tire of playing guard dog, do you?" Dekker rolled his eyes. "The more you protect her, the more vulnerable you make her. You cannot be by her side constantly."

"I can sure as hell try," Mike growled. He shoved Dekker backwards, "I know what you did. Don't you dare try and pretend like you're turning your life around. If you think I'm going to trust you for one minute with the people I love, you're clearly a moron."

"What have I done?" Dekker asked. He wasn't trying to play innocent or stupid. He honestly had no idea what Mike was referring to.

"You killed that man," Mike said. Dekker lowered his head.

"It is not my proudest moment," he sighed. "For once, I felt no personal satisfaction after killing him. However, if it's any consolation, I deeply regret my actions and I wish to leave my past behind. I will try harder not to let my Nighlok half ruin my life. If I stay near Serena…"

"If I had my way," Mike growled in frustration as his muscles tensed up and his grip around his sword tightened, "you wouldn't be anywhere near Serena! Or this house, for that matter! I would kill you, here and now!"

Dekker stood tall and furrowed his brow, "You would kill me?"

"With my bare hands," Mike nodded. "I'd rip you limb from limb. Honest to god, Dekker, you would be begging for mercy if I had my way."

"All this because I killed a man?" Dekker asked. He reached his hand out and pat Mike on the shoulder, "It is unfortunate you and I don't get along. We seem very similar. Fortunately for me, I have a reason for killing that man. I am part Nighlok and my curse has left me with urges that I cannot control. You, however, are entirely human and can control your every move. It gives me hope that I may not be the worse monster there is and that maybe I can be saved."

"What?" Mike frowned. Dekker just sighed, shook his head, and turned to walk away.

Jayden chuckled slightly as he approached Mike, "Uh, I think you just got… uh, owned?"

"No, seriously, man, what just happened?" Mike asked. He turned around so he was facing both Jayden and Emily. The two Rangers shrugged their shoulders.

"I think… I think Dekker just called _you_ a monster," Emily said. She glanced back at Dekker as he stepped into the house. "I… I have no idea what he's up to…"

"Just stay away from him," Mike told her. He looked to Jayden, "and you keep training. I want him dead… I… I think…"


	175. Truth and Consequences

Antonio set his cooler of fish down by the front door and removed his jacket and shoes before stepping into the house. He wanted to carry his cooler into the kitchen so Mentor would be able to use the leftover fish to make dinner that night, but he was interrupted when he saw Mia in the common room surrounded by a pool of books. He set the cooler down again in the hallway and walked into the room. He had to step over several books before he reached Mia and sat down beside her on the floor.

"Okay, I know you love studying more than Mike, Emily or me, but you're not that into Samurai history, are you?"

"Dekker cried," Mia muttered, reaching for another book. Antonio frowned and leaned in closer to Mia.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Dekker. He cried," Mia repeated. "There were tears in his eyes. It wasn't full on crying, but it was still… he was upset."

"Was he faking it?" Antonio asked. "You know, maybe he's trying to play the sympathy card or something…"

"It's real," Mia shook her head. She passed one of her books over to Antonio and pointed to a paragraph. It explained how the Nighlok were almost completely void of emotion and were unable to feel most of the feelings that humans felt nearly every day, such as joy, grief, sadness and love. Antonio read it, not really understanding what Mia was trying to tell him. He already knew Dekker was only half Nighlok, so it was obvious he would have some human-like qualities and emotions.

"Mia, I think you've fallen a few steps behind," Antonio told her. "We already know this about Dekker…"

"Not Dekker," Mia answered. "We already know Dekker's a whack job who's crushing on Serena. That's normal… for lack of a better word. What isn't normal is Dayu."

"You can say that again," Antonio rolled his eyes. "Nothing about the Nighlok is normal, though."

"Before you got here Dayu had been on one other mission," Mia turned to Antonio, remembering he hadn't been present the last time she and the Rangers had an encounter with Dayu. "There were a lot of weddings going on and Dayu was using Moogers to kidnap the brides. We needed to rescue them, but we had no idea where to find them."

"So…"

"Jayden and I staged a wedding," Mia continued. "We held a ceremony, we went all out. It took a few tries, but finally we made it work. We went to a real wedding, Jayden and I stood in for the real bride and groom, and I was kidnapped."

"Sounds risky," Antonio nodded his head. "You walked right into Dayu's hands."

"We needed to find the brides," Mia shrugged her shoulders. "We had to protect all those poor women."

"Alright… but what does that have to do with Dekker crying? He wasn't crying in the back at the wedding, was he?"

"No, that was Kevin," Mia laughed. "Dekker had nothing to do with the weddings. But when I was with Dayu she told me her plan to make the brides suffer but… she was making her own dress and she was so… attached to it."

"What do you mean?" Antonio asked.

"It's just the feeling I got," Mia asked. "I'm normally pretty good at reading people... I just hope this isn't the one time I'm wrong."

"What difference would it make?" Antonio shrugged. "What if she was attached to that dress? We're still going to kill her."

"Maybe we can save her," Mia said. She pointed once again to the book Antonio was holding. "I'm not exactly sure what Dayu wanted with that dress, or what was going through her head with all the brides, but if she was a Nighlok, she wouldn't have cared about weddings and brides and dresses. She would have kidnapped anyone and everyone. I'm convinced she's like Dekker."

"Well," Antonio pointed to Dekker as the warrior walked by the room on his way to visit Serena, "you can ask him what he knows right now. It can't hurt, right?"

Mia hesitated, "I think I'll stick with my own research. He cried, but that doesn't mean he's not still dangerous."

"Good luck, then," Antonio said and he gave Mia a pat on the shoulder before getting to his feet and leaving her with her work.

-Samurai-

Shortly after Dekker walked off, Mike followed him. He couldn't help but wonder what Dekker had meant when he said that he could be saved.

He followed the warrior through the house until Dekker reached the girls' bedroom. Mike leaned against the wall, just outside the door, and listened to Dekker's conversation with a recently awakened Serena.

"How was your sleep?" he asked. "Are you feeling better?"

"Much," Serena replied. Her speech had improved greatly over the last few days, much to the relief of the others. It was now easier to understand her when she needed to ask them for something, and so much easier to take care of her.

"I'm trying to find a place here," Dekker said. "I know it's important that I get along with your sister and her friends… at least until the duel…"

"Just give up," Serena sighed and Mike thought she sounded defeated… or maybe hurt. He couldn't tell the difference without looking at her and actually being a part of the conversation. "It won't happen."

"I'll make it happen," Dekker replied. "I do not wish to harm them. There is only the duel, but you know about that."

"That's the problem," Serena said. "They know about the duel. Even if they wanted to trust you… it's always going to be in the back of their minds."

"I will do what I can to help you," Dekker promised. "I will keep you safe and happy. I will make the other Rangers understand that…"

"Understand what?" Mike interrupted as he finally stepped into the room. He had heard enough, especially once Dekker started making promises that he wouldn't be able to keep. "What do we have to understand, Dekker? What are you really hiding?"

"I'm changing, green Ranger," Dekker pointed a sharp glare in Mike's direction, annoyed that he had interrupted his time with Serena. "I'm changing and there's nothing I can do to stop myself."

"I don't see much change," Mike growled. "You're a liar. You're deceitful, you're manipulative, you're selfish and there's only one thing on your mind. Murder."

"Mike…" Serena called but Mike shook his head, silencing her.

"No. Don't Mike me. I know there's a friendship between you two and there's nothing I can do about that, but there's something you need to know, Serena. Before you really give Dekker your trust, you need to know what he's done."

"This is not your place," Dekker snarled. "What I have done…"

"Puts this entire team and Serena in danger," Mike interrupted. "If you really want to keep Serena safe, and earn our trust, you'll take responsibility for the things you've done. Tell her, Dekker. Tell her the truth. Where did you go when you walked away from her?"

"Mike, what are you talking about?" Serena asked. Painfully, she sat up in her bed and looked back and forth between Dekker and Mike. She wasn't surprised by the tension between them given everything Dekker had put her sister through, but she was surprised that Mike's words seemed to be affecting Dekker, as if Mike's digging had finally led him to finding something. Something that Dekker was trying to hide.

Dekker noticed Serena's confusion and turned to Mike, "Stop this, green Ranger. She is not ready to…"

"I think it's time for Serena to have a say," Mike said. "Tell her the truth, Dekker. Let's see if she thinks you can still be saved. Go on, we're waiting."

"What's done is done," Dekker shook his head. "There is no need to talk about the past."

"Fine, Dekker," Mike growled. "If you're too chicken, I'll tell her. I'll tell her how you walked away from her in her time of need and you murdered some poor, innocent and defenseless man with your bare hands. The same hands you've been using to take care of Serena. The same hands you're going to use to kill us Rangers and her, once you're done with her. Are you still wondering why we can't be friends, Dekker?"

Serena looked up at Dekker. She had always known what he was capable of, but she had never seen him actually take a life before. It terrified her to know that sitting right next to her was a man who had murdered another man. He had taken a life, which was something she valued highly, especially right now. As she stared at Dekker, her mind drifted off to the murdered man's friends and family, and she could only imagine their pain and suffering as they heard the news. Placing herself in their shoes for a moment, she kept her gaze on Dekker and all she saw was a monster.

"Get… get out…" she stammered in horror. Dekker shook his head and reached out to take her hand.

"It is something I regret. I had no control…"

"Get out," Serena repeated but Dekker didn't move. He needed to explain what had happened and why he had done what he did. When Serena saw Dekker was going nowhere she knew she would have to leave. She pushed herself up, ignoring the screaming pain in her body as she did so. She threw the blankets off, nearly ripping them off the bed as she did, and slowly hopped out of bed. Dekker reached out to steady her and he hoped he could get her back in bed, but Serena pulled away from him. She was a little too fast, and her own movements knocked her off balance. Thankfully, though, Mike was quick to catch her and steady her. He wrapped his arms around her protectively and glared at Dekker.

"You heard her," he said. "Either you get out or I'll take her away. Which will it be?"

Dekker roared in frustration as he punched the bed and jumped to his feet. In his anger, he reached for Urumasa and he saw Mike and Serena flinch. Quickly realising that his loss of control was what got him into this mess, he removed his hand from the hilt of his sword and stormed out of the room before he caused any more damage.

As he stomped through the house he found the rest of the Rangers in the common room. He approached Jayden and ripped the red Ranger out of his seat. He slammed Jayden into the wall forcefully and leaned in close.

"Keep an eye on your friends," he said. "One by one; I'll kill them all and soon, very soon, you and I will have our duel."

With that, he shoved Jayden back into the group and stormed out of the house. Mentor, hearing the loud noise, walked in to see what was going on.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Dekker just… snapped," Kevin said as he helped Jayden off the floor. "I mean, he's been calm all week and suddenly…"

"Something must have happened," Mentor mused aloud. He looked at the Rangers, "It seems he's giving in. I had high hopes that this wouldn't happen."

"What do you mean?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah, Mentor. You've been a Dekker fan since he arrived. What gives?" Kevin added.

Mentor shook his head, "I wouldn't expect you to understand. There is much more going on inside Dekker than what shows on the outside. Unfortunately, none of us will ever know what it's like to be half Nighlok and half human. We will never face the struggles that Dekker faces."

Mike stepped into the room at this moment and looked at Emily. He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb and gestured to the bedrooms.

"Serena needs you," he said and Emily was up and gone in a flash. Mike took her place on her stool and slumped his shoulders forward. He placed his hands in his head.

"I'm not making many friends right now."

"What happened?" Mia asked. "Dekker just stormed in here and announced the duel like the good old Dekker we used to know. He's changed back into… Dekker…"

"I told Serena," Mike muttered. "I told her about the man he murdered."

"You told her carefully, I hope," Kevin frowned. He knew the truth needed to be revealed, but with Serena's state so fragile, they were waiting for the right time to break the news. They were hoping to do it when she was a little stronger.

"I kind of lost my cool…" Mike shook his head. "I'm pretty sure we're not on speaking terms anymore. Dekker didn't take it very well, either."

"That explains the threats," Jayden nodded. He looked to his team, "I guess things are back to normal. Xandred is enemy number one and Dekker's the mysterious stranger."

"Why does that not sound like a good thing?" Antonio moaned as he let himself fall back onto his stool.

"Because, now not only does he want his duel, but we've all pissed him off as well," Kevin told the gold Ranger. "I don't want to sound like I have no faith in this team, but at least, before all this Dekker was probably just going to kill us quickly."

"Now he's probably looking for revenge," Mia nodded. She reached to the table and picked up one of the many Samurai history books that had been stacked, "Now does anyone want to help me figure out what happened to Dayu and Dekker and what made them what they are now?"

"We can't fix them," Kevin rolled his eyes. Mia shot him a look.

"Can't hurt to try."


	176. Back To Normal

Jayden wasn't taking Dekker's threat lightly, especially after all the drama the Rangers had put him through. He had been scorn by every single one of Jayden's friends, and the red Ranger was sure the payback was going to be brutal.

He was up the entire night after Dekker left, training furiously in hopes that he could protect his friends. He knew it was probably a waste of his time. If Dekker really wanted Jayden to fight with everything he had, he would likely take a few of his friends' lives before challenging the red Ranger. This meant that it was likely a few of his friends would die before Jayden got the chance to see or hear from Dekker again.

Of course, Jayden wanted to hope that maybe Dekker would play a different game. He hoped that the mad man would keep his friends alive long enough for Jayden to protect them. He would still fight with all the strength he had and he would give Dekker the duel he wanted if it meant his friends would live. He hoped, but he knew he was probably wrong.

The sun rose, reminding Jayden that he had been training all night. His body was sore, he could hardly breathe and he felt like if he stopped he would collapse and die on the spot. He swung his weapon wildly, practicing his technique, when suddenly another katana blocked his swing and his opponent managed to rip his training sword from his hands.

"How long have you been doing this?"

Jayden looked up and saw Emily standing in front of him. She put both the swords down on the ground and gazed back at Jayden as he swayed slightly. He shrugged his shoulders.

"All night. What time is it?"

"Just after 5:00," Emily answered. She allowed Jayden to lean on her and walked him to the side of the house before setting him down on the bench. She picked up his water bottle and handed it over to him. "You're going to kill yourself."

"You saw Dekker," Jayden said between sips, "he'll hurt you. All of you. I can't let that happen."

"Yeah, because you're in the perfect state to protect us right now. You should be sleeping."

"So should you," Jayden replied. "What are you doing up?"

"Serena had a nightmare. After Mike told her what Dekker did… I think she's reliving the past but… all she can think about is Dekker murdering the innocent. It scares her."

"Shouldn't you be with her, then?" Jayden asked. Emily shook her head.

"She fell back to sleep. I couldn't. I was just getting some water when I saw you out here. I figured you were up all night."

"Now you're going to tell me to go to bed, huh?" Jayden chuckled. Emily smiled.

"I'm already taking care of Serena. I don't want to worry about you too."

"Leave the worrying to me," Jayden placed his hand on Emily's shoulder and pushed himself back to his feet. He stumbled slightly due to the pain and exhaust as he walked to the door. "Maybe a few hours of sleep will help, though."

"We're big kids," Emily nodded. "We can take care of ourselves, especially for a few hours."

"He still scares me," Jayden sighed. He slid the door open and stepped inside the house. Emily peeked in through the window to make sure Jayden was actually going to bed and not the dojo. When she saw he was headed for his own room she sat back down on the bench and let out a heavy sigh.

Mia stepped out of the house a little while later and saw Emily on the bench. Mia had fallen back to sleep rather quickly after Serena's nightmare, but hadn't slept very well. She took a seat on the bench, beside her little sister, and wrapped her arm around Emily's shoulder.

"This sucks."

Emily turned to Mia, "What does?"

"Serena was getting better and then he just had to screw it all up."

"Dekker?"

Mia nodded, "Yeah… and Mike too, I guess. He was the one who told her. Now she's scared," Mia glanced at Emily quickly, "It must not be easy for you, seeing your big sister so scared. She's always protected you."

"It's always been weird," Emily agreed, "it's not the first time she's been scared. After the doctors first told her she was going to die she got really scared. Mom and dad were too hysterical to calm her down so I had to be the one to tell her everything would be fine. The funny thing was that she was never scared about dying but… what would happen after she died."

"I've noticed that about her," Mia smiled, "She's always putting the needs of others above her own."

"Kind of like you," Emily chuckled. "Sometimes, when you're running around cleaning the house, picking up after us, taking care of us, I want to tell you to take a break and have a nap."

"But you don't," Mia frowned.

Emily shook her head, "Why would I?" she laughed, "then I would have to do all the chores."

"You little…" Mia tickled Emily until the yellow Ranger slipped off the bench. Emily looked up at Mia.

"Not nice."

"I could say the same about you," Mia teased, patting the Earth Samurai on the head. She then gestured to the house, "How about we get started on breakfast for the rest of the house. I'm sure everyone will be up pretty soon."

"Most people," Emily nodded and accepted Mia's hand as the pink Ranger offered to help her up, "but, uh, maybe I should do the cooking."

"I'm getting better."

"Yeah, when you have Kevin guiding your every move you're good. I won't be helping you like Kevin does. It's dirty sometimes."

"I wouldn't want you too," Mia laughed and she playfully shoved her little sister inside the house.

-Samurai-

Serena jumped up suddenly and hissed in pain as she lowered herself back into her pillow. She had just woken up from another nightmare so her heart was racing and she could feel the sweat dripping from her forehead. She looked across the room at Mia's bed, but the pink Ranger was absent. She looked at the other half of her own bed, where Emily had been laying the last time Serena woke up, and she noticed her sister was gone too.

Curious as to where the girls had gone, Serena had her sights set on finding them. She knew that if she stuck by the walls and leaned on them slightly, she could make her way through the house slowly.

With a little bit of pain, Serena managed to throw the blankets off and she hung her legs over the side of her bed. She looked down at the floor and gulped as she set her feet down and slowly stood up. Her entire body protested but Serena wasn't one to give in. She nearly tripped and stumbled as she made her way to the door. Just as she was about to open it, though, the door opened and a friendly face stood in her way.

"You're out of bed!" Kevin cried with a smile on his face and a look of worry in his eyes. He grabbed her very gently and allowed her to use him for support as she stood.

"Where's my sister?" Serena asked.

Kevin shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not sure. I just got up and wanted to see if Mia would train with me."

"Can you help me find them?"

Kevin nodded. He draped Serena's arm over his shoulder and wrapped his arm around her waist and slowly walked her down the hallway. She wasn't steady on her feet at all and several times she had nearly fallen over, but she was making quite progress for someone who had been confined to bed for weeks.

"You're pretty good," he told her. Serena nodded her head.

"You should have seen me after Dekker cured me," she whispered his name softly. "He told me Emily was in danger and I bolted."

"You're pretty protective of her, huh."

"So are you," Serena smirked. "No one, not even Dekker, can keep me from her."

"We should have realised that," Kevin lowered his head. "Look, about the not trusting you thing… I'm really sorry. I just…"

"It's in the past," Serena interrupted. "I understand what you were trying to do. For what it's worth, I feel better knowing you guys are keeping yourselves safe."

Kevin nodded and glanced quickly into the common room as he and Serena walked by. It was empty. Not a sole in sight. But he did hear some noise coming from the kitchen.

"They must be in there," he told her as he pointed to the kitchen. Serena smiled.

"Good. I'm hungry."

"Just, one thing before we reach the kitchen," Kevin smirked, "If the cooking sucks, let Mia know. She's really trying to improve."

"I get the feeling there's a story…"

"Just be happy you avoided the pre-honest days," Kevin chuckled. He opened the door to the kitchen and cleared his throat when he saw the two girls were busy making breakfast. Mia and Emily looked up at the noise and smiled.

"You're up!" Emily cried happily as she bounced over to her sister. She wanted to swallow Serena in a hug but quickly decided against that. Her sister was still sore and seemed very unsteady, even in Kevin's arms. The last thing she wanted to do was knock her over.

Kevin passed Serena over to Emily and the younger girl helped her older sister to the table so she could sit. Mia walked over to Kevin and wrapped her arms around him.

"Things feel so much better now," she whispered in his ear as he held her. "Emily's all smiles, I don't feel like I have to watch my back all the time, and Serena's getting better every day."

"I'm not surprised all that stress was Dekker's fault," Kevin nodded his head. "I like it better now that he's gone for good. We can finally focus on what's important."

"And I know you're dying to get back into a regular routine," Mia chuckled before pulling Kevin over to the kitchen. "Mind helping me in here? I think I just lost my other chef," she pointed to the kitchen table, where Serena and Emily were already deep in conversation.

"What are we making?" Kevin asked as he looked around.

"Waffles, bacon and eggs," Mia answered. "Hopefully the others will wake up soon and we can all eat together."

"I'm sure you'll drag them out of bed if they don't," Kevin laughed. Mia shrugged.

"Emily said Jayden didn't sleep. I might leave him. But Mike and Antonio don't have much longer."

"How about you wake them up and I'll finish up here?" Kevin offered. "Maybe during breakfast we can talk about that threat Dekker made. Jayden's got to be feeling the pressure now. It'll help him to know we're willing to take care of each other."

"Good idea," Mia nodded. She gave her boyfriend a kiss and left to wake up Mike and Antonio.


	177. A Second Chance For Dekker?

"I'm all for… Ow! … defending myself and challenges and stuff," Mike said as he rubbed his shoulder quickly and jumped back into his sparring session with Kevin, "but what I don't like is… OW! ... how you're hitting so… OW! … fucking hard!"

"Sorry," Kevin apologized. He lowered his sword and gave Mike a few seconds to relax. "It's just… I don't like not knowing what Dekker has planned next. And Master Xandred's been quiet for a while again… I have a horrible feeling that something big is going to happen and I want to be ready."

"Mind not damaging my boyfriend in the process," Emily chuckled as she, Antonio and Mia finished their sparring session and turned to Kevin and Mike. "If you hurt him he's easy prey."

"Something tells me Dekker's already got it all figured out," Antonio said. "He told Jayden he would pick us off one by one, which means he's probably waiting for the perfect time to snatch us up. We have to keep out guard up, at all times."

The Rangers nodded in agreement with Antonio. While nodding, Mike saw Serena sitting on the bench by the side of the house. She had insisted that she was feeling well enough to stay outside with the Rangers and get a little fresh air. Mike imagined she would be happy watching her sister train and improve, but Serena didn't seem happy. She was sitting with her shoulders slumped forward and her hands in her lap. Her gaze was fixed on her fingers as she twirled them around her hands slowly.

With a heavy sigh, he put his sword down and walked over to her.

"I guess I shouldn't have opened my big mouth," he said. "It's just… Dekker's…"

"I'm not mad at you, Mike," Serena muttered. She pulled her legs up in the bench and hugged her knees, "I just really thought there was more to him than… well Dekker."

"He's been a monster for centuries," Mike shrugged his shoulders. "It's not like that life he took was the first one… I'm sure you know that."

"Yeah," Serena nodded. "He told me about some of his previous matches. He left out the gory details but I got the just of it. Still… it's different now that it's so recent."

"Can I ask you something," Mike looked down at his feet as he moved them across the ground nervously. Serena looked up at him and nodded slowly.

"Sure."

"What exactly did you see in him?" he asked. "I mean, he's a cold blooded killer. He wants to duel Jayden to the death, he's kidnapped Kevin and Emily and he's hurt her… really bad. If anyone should hate him, it's you."

"I did," Serena answered honestly. "At first I couldn't stand him. I knew it would be stupid to try and fight him off, which is why I never really kicked him out of the Tengen Gate. After a few days things just kind of settled. I didn't really see him as some evil psycho because he wasn't acting like one. He started to change. I was stupid to think it would be permanent. You can't change someone, especially when they've been set in their ways for centuries."

Mike nodded. He placed a hand on Serena's shoulder.

"You have your family, that's what counts. If Dekker wouldn't change for you, because we all know he really cared about you, then he's not worth it. We'll stick by you, no matter what. We'll always be here for you."

"I doubt that," Serena sighed. "Dekker's going to do everything he can to kill you all. That's something about him that never changed."

"He was honest, at least."

"I fell in love with the man who planned on killing my baby sister and her friends," Serena sobbed, though she tried to hold back the tears. "He would remind me every day that in order to get to Jayden he would have to kill you guys and I still fell in love with him."

Mike knelt down beside her, "He's not going to hurt us."

"I've trained with him, Mike," Serena shook her head and tried to wipe away the tears. "No offense, but even now I could kick your ass, and he handed me mine on a silver platter daily. What makes you think you can stop him? Or even Xandred?"

Mike shrugged, "I don't know, but…"

"Are you making her cry again?" Mike was interrupted as Emily approached him and Serena, obviously curious as to what her boyfriend and sister were talking about. Serena shook her head.

"It's nothing, Emy," she assured her sister. "I think I just need to go lie down again."

"Okay… do you want help? We're all done so…"

"I'll be fine," Serena smiled. With a little help from Mike and Emily she got to her feet and slowly walked into the house. When she was gone Emily turned to Mike and slapped him in the chest. He frowned, rubbed his torso and turned to his girlfriend.

"What was that for?"

"I don't know," Emily replied, "but I'm sure you did something to upset her."

"Just stay safe, okay Em," Mike said. He wrapped his arm around her and the two walked back to the group.

-Samurai-

When Jayden finally woke up it was past noon. He had only planned on sleeping for a couple of hours but apparently his body had different ideas. He was still tired as he pulled himself out of bed, but he couldn't go back to sleep.

He made his way to the common room and saw the Rangers were dressed in their training uniforms as they sat around the table.

"Are you waiting for me?"

"We've already trained," Kevin answered Jayden, "though I'm up for round two if you need a partner."

Jayden shook his head. His body was sore after training all night. Even he wasn't up to more physical activity. He took a seat and looked around the room at his friends.

"So, what are we talking about?" he asked.

"We're trying to figure out a way to stop Dekker," Mike said. "Master Xandred's been quite for a while, so we're going to use that time to knock Dekker out of the picture."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Jayden frowned. Antonio shook his head and shrugged.

"We were hoping you would have an answer," he said honestly. "We're kind of stuck."

"I can challenge him myself," Jayden offered. "I can keep you out of harm's way. Worse come to worse, I lose the duel, Dekker's satisfied and…"

"You're dead," Kevin shook his head, "Yeah, we all agreed that was a stupid plan. If Dekker wants a fight, he's getting one. None of us are going to sit around and watch him beat the shit out of you."

"I might win," Jayden said. "Dekker chose me for a reason."

"And you think I'm cocky," Mike whispered to Kevin. The blue Ranger, in return, punched him lightly on the arm. As Mike rubbed his upper arm he looked to Jayden.

"We're not going to risk something happening to you."

"For now we just figured we would all stick together," Emily nodded. "Dekker wants us one by one, right? He can't do that if we're a group."

"He'll find a way," Jayden muttered.

"Well, this will slow him down, at least," Kevin answered. "It'll frustrate him, he'll make a mistake and that's when we'll…"

"We won't kill him," Mia spoke, looking up from the book she was reading. She hadn't really been part of any conversation since she sat down and grabbed the Samurai history books, but she had been listening to the ideas that the others had come up with.

Mike looked at Mia, his eyes wide, "Are… you're… you're kidding me, right? The dude's a monster! Do I have to list the things he's done."

"He's half a monster," Mia corrected Mike. "He's dangerous, insane and slightly creepy, yes, but we'll be no better than him if we kill him."

"We'll be half better," Antonio shrugged his shoulders. "He's still a Nighlok."

"Half Nighlok," Mia corrected again. "His other half is human."

"I don't care what his other half is," Mike shook his head. "A kid on my street once got bit by a dog. Do you know what happened? They put the dog down because he was too dangerous! We need to do the same with Dekker because anyone else gets hurt."

Mia rolled her eyes and turned to Kevin, "You saw him cry, right?"

"Yeah, but Mia, I still doubt that was completely sincere!"

"Something's up…"

"You're going to get yourself killed," Kevin sighed.

Mia continued, ignoring her boyfriend, "Dekker's behaviour just doesn't add up…"

"I might as well break it off and spare myself the pain of losing you…"

Mia slapped Kevin on the shoulder, "Look, guys, I'm not saying we put him in therapy and see if that changes him. Next time I see him I'm going to beat the shit out of him, but if he can be saved, I say we save him."

"I want him dead," Emily voted, surprising Mia greatly. Sweet little Emily wasn't supposed to be a murderer.

Mike nodded his head in agreement with his girlfriend, "After everything he's done he doesn't deserve a second chance. I'm not letting him hurt some innocent civilian or someone else I care about!"

"I'm all for murder," Antonio said. "I don't care if he's half human or full human. I would sleep easy knowing he's gone for good."

"You're outvoted, Mia," Kevin shrugged his shoulders. "Even if Jayden agreed with you…"

"I want him dead too," Jayden nodded. Kevin turned back to his girlfriend.

"There you have it."

Mia sighed loudly in disappointed, slammed her book shut and left the room without another word. The other Rangers exchanged worried glances. They all felt like they had done something very wrong, but they felt no regret.


	178. Dekker's First Strike

After storming off, the Rangers never heard from Mia again. They saw her around the house and she continued to take part in training and Serena's recovery, but she refused to say a word to the Rangers until they had a long, hard think about what they planned on doing to Dekker and the consequences it would have in the future.

Mia didn't want to see her friends, no, her family, turn into monsters. It was bad enough she had to fight against them, but living with monsters was something she refused to do. If there was a chance Dekker could turn his life around and be saved, the Rangers needed to take that chance.

She spoke to Serena about trying to change Dekker, but the only thing that accomplished was making Serena feel even worse about getting close to the mad warrior in the first place. Mia could tell Serena's heart was broken and after her first talk she decided not to press the matter. Serena was going to do what she wanted to do. Mia just hoped she wouldn't be as stupid as the other Rangers.

She huffed loudly and looked the other way when Kevin tried to approach her and apologize, but she knew he wouldn't be apologizing for the right thing. He always told her how he was sorry for wanting revenge. When she wouldn't accept his apology he would become sarcastic and he would apologize for wanting to keep her safe. Mia didn't like his attitude and so she blocked him out.

She had also been eating her meals alone. If she couldn't get a room to herself she would eat after all the Rangers had finished with their meals. She avoided spending any time in the common room or the dojo, knowing that was where the Rangers hung out during the day, and she had moved out of her own room. Serena was still in Emily's bed, and Emily still slept with Mia. The pink Ranger didn't want to share a bed with a monster, so she spent her nights on the couch.

"Mia," Kevin called her name as she brushed past him, "C'mon! It's been four days!"

She didn't say a word as she walked past him and into the kitchen to make a late lunch. She wouldn't talk to anyone, Kevin especially. She would never associate herself with monsters and therefore needed to distance herself from her friends.

Pulling out some leftovers, Mia dumped her lunch into a bowl and set it in the microwave to reheat. While waiting for the microwave she glanced out the window and watched Antonio and Jayden train. She couldn't help but chuckle as Antonio misjudged Jayden's attack and fell backwards onto his butt, with his feet straight up in the air when he landed.

The microwave beeped and she pulled out her lunch. She walked to the table to eat alone until Emily walked in. The yellow Ranger spotted Mia and hesitated to enter the kitchen. Mia turned her back to Emily.

The youngest Samurai bit her lip when she saw Mia turn away. She sighed heavily and walked to the fridge.

"I'll sleep on the couch tonight… if you want," she offered, but Mia didn't answer. She didn't even shake her head. Emily pulled out a water bottle and walked to the counter. She leaned forward against it and tried to get Mia to look at her, "The bed's yours and Serena tells me you're still talking to her so maybe it's best for you and her if I take the couch for a few nights. You two can talk and maybe you'll forget all about being angry."

Still, Mia didn't say a word. Emily huffed.

"Now you're just being ridiculous. What do you want, Mia? As long as Dekker's alive he's going to hunt us all down! Yeah, killing him sucks and I know it's wrong, but we'll save thousands of people!"

Mia wasn't done her lunch but she wasn't going to stay in the kitchen any longer. She grabbed her plate and walked to the sink, dumping the leftovers down the drain before dropping her plate and heading off.

Emily rolled her eyes, "You're being stupid!"

"You know," Mia spoke, breaking her vow of silence as she turned to her little sister, "I hate what you want to do, but I get it. I know why Mike wants to kill Dekker and I know Jayden's probably going to be in a position where it's him or Dekker. I know Kevin wants to protect me and Antonio's just looking out for Jayden, but I never thought you would be pro-murder, Emily."

"My sister…"

"He didn't lay a hand on your sister, Emily," Mia growled. "He hurt you. If you do anything to him, you'll be as bad as him. You're terrified of him and yet you want to turn yourself into him? It's disgusting."

"Mia…"

Mia shook her head and returned to giving her friend the silent treatment. She turned her back to Emily and stomped off to the back of the house. She stepped outside and leaned against the side of the house. She pulled out her Samuraizer and stared at it sadly as her words to Emily ran through her head again. She didn't regret what she said, and she hoped, when Emily told the others, they would realise their mistake.

Just as she was about to put her Samuraizer back in her pocket someone slapped it out of her hand and pressed a hand to her throat. Mia tried to gasp when she looked up and saw Dekker but he pressed tightly against her neck, pinning her to the wall. She knew she was in trouble. He had approached her so silently that she hadn't heard him at all and she was unable to scream for help.

"Never rob me of something I love," Dekker growled, pulling out Urumasa. Mia's eyes were wide in terror.

He pulled his hand away from her throat. He wanted her to run. He hated the thought of taking a Ranger out quickly and easily, and he wanted the remaining Rangers to know he was back and he was ready to fight.

Mia took off the moment he took his hands off her. She tried to run back inside but Dekker tackled her before she reached the door. He laid on top of her, pinned her down, and wrapped his arm around her neck. She struggled in his grip and he laughed, finding this exciting.

He felt her movements slow and jumped off of her. She coughed and tried to crawl to safety. Dekker watched and chuckled as he once again drew Urumasa. His intentions were to kill her just as she screamed for help.

She was about to get up and run when she felt Dekker kick her in the side. She doubled over in pain, clutching the side of her stomach where he had kicked her. With his foot, he rolled her over onto her back and he then placed his foot on her chest. He held Urumasa up, ready to strike. Mia screamed, terrified her friends wouldn't make it in time to save her. Dekker brought his sword down but stopped suddenly and only inches above Mia's heart. The pink Ranger couldn't help but look up when she realised her life hadn't yet ended and she noticed he was staring at her bedroom window. He shook his head, put his sword away, and grabbed her roughly.

"I'll do this another way," he muttered. He heard the Rangers' footsteps inside the house and he knew he had to get away quickly.

All Mia felt before blacking out completely was a sharp pain in the side of her head.

-Samurai-

Serena watched from the window as Dekker lifted Mia onto his shoulder and raced off into the forest. He was out of sight before the other Rangers made it outside and she sighed sadly.

She had seen it all unfold: Dekker surprising Mia, overpowering her, and his attempt to kill her. Serena had been frozen in shock as she witnessed the man she loved attack one of her friends. She couldn't believe her eyes.

But then, her eyes had locked with Dekker's. He had looked her way, as if he knew she was watching him and as soon as their eyes met he too froze. There had been a look on his face that Serena had never seen before, and she was sure she would never see it again. Pain? Sadness? Loneliness?

Then, to her surprise, Dekker had stopped himself from killing Mia. He had still taken off with her, but he hadn't killed her. Serena couldn't help but wonder why.

-Samurai-

"That sounded like it came from back here," Mike said as he spun around a couple of times to get a look at his surroundings. His Samuraizer was in his hand, at the ready. He, like the rest of his friends, had heard Mia screaming and even though she had been mad at them and had given them the cold shoulder and the silent treatment, they had all rushed out to check up on her.

While the team searched, Kevin's eyes were fixed on one spot in particular. There, in the grass, was an object he wished he hadn't seen.

He stumbled over to it and fell to his knees as he reached down to pick it up. A sob escaped his lips and the Rangers turned to look at him. In his hands was Mia's Samuraizer.

"No…" Emily whined sadly, knowing what this meant. Wherever Mia was, she was without help, and because she didn't have her Samuraizer on her, tracking her down would be next to impossible.

"It was him, wasn't it?" Mike asked. He turned to the rest of the group but no one answered him. Jayden looked to the forest and Antonio walked over to Kevin and knelt down beside him. Mike growled, "Someone! Answer me!"

"Who else would it be?" Jayden shrugged. He looked over at Mike and then shook his head, "He got her."

"We have to find her," Emily said. "Before he gets too far…"

"Go inside, Emily," Mike told her and he pointed to the house. Emily refused. She stomped her foot on the ground.

"I'm not hiding. We have to find Mia! Before he kills her!"

"He may have already killed her," Jayden sighed. He hated to say it, but Dekker didn't seem like the kind of guy who would muck around. When he wanted something, he made sure he got it. If he wanted Mia dead then surely she would be dead by now.

"You guys can hide," Kevin said. He put Mia's Samuraizer in his pocket and got to his feet. Antonio looked up at him and Jayden, Emily and Mike turned to face him. Kevin simply pointed to the forest, "He's in there, somewhere, waiting for his next opportunity. I'm not going to let him take it, and I'm not going to let him get away with this."

"Whoa," Mike and Antonio cried as Kevin suddenly leapt forward. They grabbed him before he could take off and they held him back. Kevin struggled and tried everything he could to remove the gold and green Rangers' grip but they stuck to him until finally they threw him down into the dirt. Mike glared at Kevin.

"You go after her and you're going to get yourself killed!"

"I don't care!" Kevin shouted.

"We do! Mia does! So pull your head out of your ass and think for a minute! If you go marching right into Dekker's hands, you're only giving him what he wants."

"He killed her!" Kevin screamed. "I won't…"

"Dekker didn't kill her," Serena said from the door as she joined her friends in the yard. "I saw it from my window. I saw it all. He was going to but he stopped. Odds are she's still alive."

"You saw it?" Kevin asked. He jumped to his feet and stomped over to Serena. He stood toe to toe with her and glared angrily, "Why didn't you stop it?"

"I… I think I did," Serena answered before shaking her head and looking Kevin in the eye, "besides, what could I have done? I've still got more bruises than actual skin."

Kevin took a few deep, angry breathes before punching the doorframe right next to Serena and turning back to the forest. He was about to run again but Mike and Antonio grabbed him.

"Calmarse!" Antonio shouted. "Calm down!"

"Calm down?" Kevin asked. "You expect me to calm down? Mia's out there with some psychotic murderer and you want me to…"

Kevin was interrupted by a blow to the face that knocked him right off his feet and into the dirt. He slid for a quick moment before coming to a complete stop, at which point his face began to throb. He held his hand over his soon-to-be bruise and looked up to see who had hit him.

"You would have done the same for me, dude," Mike said as he shook his wrist. He held out his hand to help Kevin up. "We'll do what we can for Mia, but we have to be smart. The last thing she would want is someone else to get caught by Dekker. Smarten up and think about her."

Kevin took Mike's hand and he was pulled back off. Mike dusted some of the dirt off Kevin's shoulder and smiled.

"We'll find her and Dekker will pay," he promised, "but we have to think it through, first."

"Everyone inside," Jayden said. He placed a hand on Antonio's shoulder and the other on Emily's back and he guided them back into the house. Emily rushed forward, taking her sister's hand and pulling her into the house. Jayden looked to Antonio and smiled weakly to his friend before glancing over his shoulder at Mike and Kevin who were reluctantly making their way inside.


	179. Figuring Out The Next Move

After the Rangers filled Mentor Ji in on what happened, Mentor turned his attention to Serena. He knew she had seen what had happened and he knew that their best bet to figure out Dekker's next move would be her.

"Tell me again what you saw," he asked Serena and ignored the tears in his Rangers' eyes as they had to listen to the story over and over again. Serena sighed and shook her head.

"I looked out the window and saw him walking up to her. He was only a few feet away from her and before I could do anything he slapped her Samuraizer from her hand and grabbed her. He was choking her and he had her pinned to the wall. I couldn't see Mia and I could barely see his face, but I knew he was going to kill her."

"And then?" Mentor asked.

"I think he let her go. I saw her starting run and I thought she would get away. But he grabbed her, knocked her down. He started choking her again. And then… I think he let her go again."

"It seems he was toying with her," Mentor nodded. "Continue, Serena."

"He kicked her. He kicked her and pinned her down. He was about to kill her again when he suddenly looked up and our eyes met, only for a moment. He stopped, put his sword away, grabbed her and ran with her."

"Interesting," Mentor said. "Maybe all is not lost. Serena, can you repeat to me…"

"No," Serena shook her head. "I can't, Mentor. I told you everything. It's time for you to talk to us."

"Dekker cares for you," Mentor told her. Serena rolled her eyes.

"Not enough…"

"As you all know, he is cursed," Mentor said, turning to the other Rangers. "He is not a full Nighlok, nor is he completely human."

"Yeah, we got that," Kevin muttered. He was sick and tired of sitting around and listening to the same story over and over again. He wanted answers, he wanted results, and he wanted his girlfriend back in his arms, safe and sound, where she belonged. "Just cut to the chase, Mentor. What's up with Dekker?"

"He told me, when he first arrived, that Serena made him feel human. He insisted that he was a changed man because of her. That is why I was okay with him staying in the house. He was harmless around her because he cared for her."

"That's why he attacked Mia and killed that man," Mike rolled his eyes.

Mentor sighed, "Unfortunately, even though Dekker wants to change, there is no denying the fact that he is a Nighlok. When enraged, unfortunately, he loses control. Dekker, the human Serena befriended, did not kill that man. It was a Nighlok."

"So, it's like… split personality. Human Dekker and Monster Dekker?" Antonio asked.

"Mia was onto something," Kevin muttered. He looked down to the floor and suddenly he felt so much more anger bubbling inside of him, but the anger wasn't directed at anyone but himself. He should have been more supportive of her when she tried to tell him that Dekker was still human. If he had been, she wouldn't have gotten mad and he could have protected her. She wouldn't have isolated herself, even if she hadn't even left the yard, and she wouldn't have been attacked. "She was starting to think that maybe there was more to Dekker and we ignored her."

"We didn't know any better," Mike shrugged.

"We're a team. We're supposed to believe in each other. Mia had an idea and we let her down! Now she's God-knows-where with Dekker and we're nowhere near close to finding her! She wasn't dead when he grabbed her, but she probably dead by now!"

"You can't think like that, Kevin," Antonio shook his head.

"Why not?" Jayden asked. "He'll kill her to piss me off. It's a good plan. It's going to work."

"If he gives a damn about me, he won't touch her," Serena growled. Emily took her sister's hand and leaned into Serena comfortingly. "Though he obviously doesn't…"

"Then why did he hesitate?" Mentor asked Serena. "Why did one look at you keep him from hurting Mia? Do not give up on him. Any of you."

"I gave up in him the minute he threatened Mia," Kevin shook his head, "and that was way back before any of this shit started. I don't care if he's human, I don't care if he's stronger than I am, I'm getting Mia back."

"Where do we start looking?" Mike asked.

"NO!" Jayden screamed as he jumped to his feet and glared at his friends. "None of you are leaving this house! None of you will go searching for Mia! I will not risk any of you getting killed. Dekker wants me and I'm ready to give him the duel he's been waiting for."

"Jayden, you can't go off on your own! He'll chop you into little pieces!" Antonio cried, grabbing Jayden's arm as the red Ranger tried to stomp off. "We need you."

"No, you don't," Jayden quickly glanced at Mentor and saw the older man shaking his head. He roared in frustration and stormed off to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

Mentor sighed loudly. He looked to the team, "I trust none of you will do anything stupid."

"You have our word," Mike promised. "We all want to rescue Mia, but we need to be smart, right Kevin?"

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Good," Mentor nodded. "I will keep an eye on Jayden."

"For a guy who knows he's Earth's only hope at sealing Master Xandred away, he sure is willing to throw himself under the bus," Mike muttered.

"Let's hope he doesn't do anything stupid," Serena said.

"Let's hope Dekker doesn't," Kevin growled as he got up and headed for his room. Mike and Antonio followed him. They didn't want him out of their sight.

Serena hugged Emily close. She didn't want to take her eye off Emily either. Dekker had already come after Mia and there was no telling who his next target was. She hated the thought that he would come back for one of her friends. She also hated that she would rather he kill one of them than her baby sister.

"Don't you dare leave my side," she said to Emily. "He might not hurt me, but he's not above killing you."

"I'm more worried about Kevin," Emily sighed. "He'll be the first to make a stupid move. What if…"

"Don't think about it," Serena shook her head. "We should go to bed, huh? It's been a long day."

"Fine. Here, let me help," Emily held onto her sister as Serena got up from her seat and started to walk back to the bedroom. She could feel her older sister holding onto her more than usual and all it managed to do was scare Emily a little more. She didn't want to have to face Dekker again.


	180. Another One Down

Antonio didn't think he would be able to sleep in his own room for the night. Jayden had stormed off, clearly angry over something, and Mentor had followed him. He didn't feel like interrupting whatever father/son moment that was happening in the other room, and he figured Mike would need his help to keep Kevin from taking off to save Mia.

So the boys set up a sleeping bag on the floor for Antonio and offered him a few pillows. The intention was to have him sleep on the floor, but none of the boys were able to sleep. After the day they had, they were too worked up, too scared, and too worried.

"I'm sure she's fine, dude," Mike tried to comfort Kevin. The blue Ranger was biting his nails nervously, a habit Mike had never seen Kevin do before. It was weird to watch the stoic and disciplined Ranger so upset and worried, but Mike knew, if he were in Kevin's place, he would be going just as mad. It was for that very reason he was doing his best to keep Kevin safe.

"How can you say that?" Kevin asked. He moved his hand away from his mouth and leaned back into his bed. "She's probably dead."

"No," Antonio shook his head. He wanted to live with hope. Hope that they would find Mia and bring her home.

"So, what then?" Kevin frowned. "You want me to believe she's with Dekker and he's hurting her? At least… if she is dead…"

"She's not dead," Antonio stated and he saw Mike was nodding his head. "You heard Serena. He didn't kill her."

"Not right away…"

Mike got out of bed and grabbed Kevin by the shoulders. He thought maybe he could shake some sense into his older brother.

"Mia's a big girl. Whatever Dekker does to her, she'll get over. She knows you're coming for her…"

"If he touches her…"

"He won't dare," Mike smirked. "He's just trying to scare us. Besides, I'll bet you anything he wants Jayden to watch all our murders. That'll really get his fire going. If that's true, we'll all see her again."

"Let him take me, then," Kevin said. "Next time he shows his face, let him take me."

"No way," Antonio frowned.

"I want to be with her," Kevin said. "I don't care about anything else. I need to be with her."

"You need to be fighting for her," Antonio replied, shaking his head in disappointment. He knew Kevin cared for Mia quite a bit, but he was starting to sound ridiculous. "She believes in you, amigo. If you're trapped with her, who will she have to count on? Keep her faith up, Kevin. Focus on her."

"If anything happens to her…"

"We'll let you kill Dekker," Mike smiled. "You'll make him pay, everyone knows that. Even Dekker knows that. That's why he won't do anything to her. He'll have four angry Rangers and one very pissed off boyfriend to deal with."

"One very pissed and well rested boyfriend," Antonio added with a laugh. "We should get some sleep, guys. We're no good to Mia tired."

-Samurai-

The red Ranger was out of the question. He wouldn't be touched before the duel. That meant Dekker had four other Rangers to choose from.

He sat in the shadows, just outside their home, and watched them all from the windows. When he knew it was safe he would peek inside the house, just to see what he would be facing when he went in for another strike.

Because he didn't want to go after Red just yet that meant that Blue, Green, Yellow and Gold were his targets. One of them would be joining the pink Ranger very soon.

As he spied through the windows he noticed the three boys were sharing one room on this night. He growled and clenched his fists. Did they know they were making his job harder than it needed to be? With the three of them in one room, there was no way he could grab one, make him suffer for a little, and then take off. He had abandoned the idea of killing them all quickly after locking eyes with Serena, but he was still focused on completing this mission. Urumasa's cravings would be satisfied, and he would get his revenge.

He couldn't go after Blue, Green, or Gold, because the others would be too easily awakened and they would jump in to help their friend. Dekker was sure he could win a three-on-one fight, but the two extra figures would slow him down and it was likely that they would draw Yellow and Red in as well. That was the last thing Dekker wanted.

And leaving Red untouched meant there was only one suitable target for the night. He walked over to the girls' bedroom window and peeked inside. Just as he expected, Yellow was on her own. She was sleeping right next to her sister, but all the other Rangers were out of sight. A malicious smile appeared on his lips as he broke the lock to the window and slipped inside the room.

He pictured himself grabbing her in much the same way he grabbed the pink Ranger. He wanted to make sure he could drag her far enough away from Serena so she didn't have to watch him hurt her baby sister and so that he could get the chance to toy with Emily, like he did Mia, before taking her away.

Slowly, and quietly, he approached the bed. He held his arms out and at the ready to grab Emily and drag her away but just as he was about to do so he stopped. He pulled his hands away and examined her quickly. She was wrapped up in the blankets, comfortably it looked like, and she was huddled close to her sister. Dekker carefully pulled the blanket down, exposing the two girls, and he felt his heart stop.

He expected to see the yellow Ranger protecting her sister. Given Serena's state, and the fact that Dekker's actions were clearly unpredictable, he thought the yellow Ranger would have wanted to keep Serena safe. He was surprised when he saw the opposite. Serena was holding onto Emily. Even in her recovering state she was still looking out for her little sister. This only served to remind Dekker just how much pain he would cause Serena if he did anything to the yellow Ranger. He tucked the two sisters back into bed and let out a heavy sigh.

He walked over to the pink Ranger's bed and took a seat. He dropped his head in his hands and tried to think of what to do next. He knew, eventually, he would have to grab the yellow Ranger. He needed her to motivate the red Ranger. But his mind kept straying back to Serena's threats.

_"You could always back out and let me finish the duel the way I first intended. Of course, that would mean also putting the other Ranger's lives at risk. Tell me, would it be smart to kill your sister first, or let her watch as I slowly sacrifice all the others in order to feed the red Ranger's motivation?"_

_"Touch her once and I'll kill you personally."_

He was sure Serena would keep that promise, even after everything they had been through. He knew she cared deeply for her sister and the rest of the Ranger. It was hard enough for him to hurt the pink Ranger, knowing it would upset Serena. He couldn't bring himself to harm the yellow Ranger, especially when it meant stealing her right out from Serena's arms.

He would have to take her another time. Until then, he had to settle for one of the boys. His only trouble with that was how he would take one without the others interfering.

It was then he heard something that brought the smile back to his face. He could hear footsteps approaching the bedroom. There was a chance this was the red Ranger or the mentor, but if it was anyone else, he would grab him.

Tucking himself away into the shadows, Dekker watched as the bedroom door opened quietly and the green Ranger walked in. Dekker rolled his eyes. He knew he should have seen this coming. With the yellow Ranger on her own, it was inevitable that the green Ranger check up on her, at least once, during the night to make sure nothing happened to her. Dekker smiled at his luck.

He waited for Mike to stand with his back turned to him. That way, there would be no screaming until Dekker wanted the other Rangers to know he had struck again. When Mike was in the perfect position he crept out of his hiding spot and quickly grabbed the green Ranger around the neck. He applied pressure quickly which kept him from screaming for help.

But the green Ranger struggled. He was kicking and he was trying, with all his might, to remove Dekker's arm from around his neck. It still wasn't enough, and it only made Dekker's little adventure all the more exciting.

"You'll be joining your pink friend," he whispered into Mike's ear before letting him go for a quick moment. Just long enough so the green Ranger would believe he could escape. Then, Dekker grabbed him again. Mike tried to call for help, but it was quickly muffled.

"Shh," Dekker silenced him and he pointed to the bed, "You don't want to wake them up."

Mike continued to struggle as Dekker pulled him towards the window. It was then that Dekker realised he was a little stuck. He couldn't fit himself and the green Ranger through the open window. It would have to be one at a time, and he wouldn't risk the green Ranger getting away.

There was a quick fix to his problem though as he lifted Mike up by the neck and threw him into the window. The glass shattered as Mike made contact and the green Ranger felt himself hit the ground outside. He was also showered by hundreds of pieces of broken glass before he felt a sharp pain in his head and his vision quickly faded to black.


	181. On The Hunt

Serena and Emily both woke up to the sound of glass breaking and they turned to the window in time to see a figure jumping out. Serena grabbed onto Emily tightly, figuring anyone who would smash a window in the middle of the night was bad news. She felt Emily try to push away though to see what had happened.

The door to their room flew open as Jayden, Antonio, Kevin and Mentor rushed in. They too had heard the breaking window and were worried something had happened to the girls. They were relieved to see they were both okay, but Emily wasn't comforted at all.

"Where's Mike?" she asked as she noticed her boyfriend was the only one who didn't come to make sure she was okay. This made Serena clutch tightly as Emily turned to the window.

The boys looked around their group for the green Ranger and their hearts fell as they realised what had happened. Knowing Mike, he would have gone to check up on Emily and Serena. Knowing Mike, he was likely gone.

"Do not panic, Rangers…"

"Don't panic?" Kevin screamed to Mentor Ji. Now his best friend and his girlfriend were missing, and he already knew who was behind it all. He also knew that if there was a time to panic, it was right now. "He was right here! In this house!"

"Exactly," Mentor smirked. "He was in this house, in this very bedroom. We do not know how long he's been in here, but we can assume he did nothing."

"Nothing!" Serena shouted. She held her baby sister comfortingly as Emily stared out the broken window. "You call kidnapping Mike nothing?"

"Allow me to rephrase that," Mentor said. "He did nothing to Emily. I believe now, more than ever, that he does still care about you, Serena."

"He wouldn't be touching any of them if he cared about me," Serena growled.

"Can we hunt him down, now?" Kevin asked Antonio and Mentor. They were the only two people left who refused to track Dekker down for fear they would walk into a trap.

"No," Mentor answered just as Antonio was about to nod his head. The gold Ranger turned to his mentor and shot him a look that told everyone he thought Mentor was crazy.

"What? We're down two Rangers and you want to sit here and wait for him to…"

"He will not strike again tonight," Mentor interrupted. He pointed to the beds. "I suggest we…"

"Go find them," Jayden said. He hated to disobey Mentor, but he wouldn't sit around and watch his friends get picked off one by one. He wanted to put a stop to this as quickly as possible. He signalled for Kevin, Antonio and Emily to come with him as he looked at Mentor, "Keep an eye on…"

"What are you doing?" Serena asked Jayden as she hopped out of bed. "I'm still a little slow, but I'm coming with you."

"No… Serena…"

"Emily, if Mentor's right, Dekker won't hurt me. I'm safe, I want to make sure you and the others are too."

"You heard her," Antonio said to Jayden, "She's coming with. Maybe she can talk some sense into Dekker, before he really does something he'll regret."

"He'll regret meeting us when I'm through with him," Kevin growled as he cracked his knuckles and led the way out.

Just before leaving Jayden felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to Mentor Ji.

"What?"

"This is dangerous," Mentor told Jayden. "You may not come back."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," Jayden said.

"Make sure you come home…"

Jayden shrugged Mentor's hand off his shoulder, "They are my priority. You don't need me. It's a lie and you know it."

-Samurai-

After getting rid of Mike, Dekker went back out to see how the Rangers were coping. He had seen them shortly after the pink Ranger went missing and noticed they had begun to panic, he could only imagine how much more terrified they would be when they realised another one of them had been taken as well.

But he didn't need to head all the way back to their home. They were coming for him.

He stuck to the trees, jumping from branch to branch and tree to tree as he followed them discreetly. They had no idea he was watching them, though the dog they had taken with them seemed to know there was someone else nearby. Dekker couldn't help but notice the dog would occasionally stop sniffing the ground and he would look up, right at him. Fortunately, Dekker hid himself well in the trees and the young dog always failed to spot him.

He liked the way this game was turning out. He thought it would be fun to go to them and pick them off one by one, but now that they were coming to him, things were a lot more interesting. He trusted they would never find their friends, which meant they would be looking for hours, even days if they were stubborn enough. That gave him a lot of time to pluck them, one by one.

Chuckling to himself, Dekker took off back home for a little rest before starting phase three. He also needed a little time to think of perfect target number three.

As he jumped away, the Rangers heard the leaves rustle and they all jumped. Kevin was used to having Mia right by his side so when he heard the noise he reached out for her and pulled her into his arms protectively.

Only Mia was gone.

"Um, Kevin," Antonio chuckled once the noise was past. He tapped the blue Ranger on the arm, "I'm flattered you want me safe, but don't you think this is taking things a little too far?"

Kevin looked down and saw he was holding Antonio, not Mia, in his arms. He sighed and shoved the gold Ranger away.

Antonio stumbled forward slightly as a result of being pushed, but he quickly regained his composure. He straightened out his shirt and turned back to Kevin.

"Okay, not really flattered anymore."

"It was probably just the wind in the trees," Jayden told his team to calm their nerves but he quickly realised his mistake.

"Now their elements are taunting us," Kevin muttered. He glared down at Scruffy, "Can't you work a little faster! Their lives could depend on you!"

"He's trying!" Emily defended her dog. She knelt down beside Scruffy and wrapped her arms around him. "He hasn't been trained for track and rescue. He's doing the best he can."

"This is stupid," Serena sighed. She took a seat on a rock, desperate to get off her feet. She was sore and tired and this whole mission was starting to feel hopeless. "He could have taken them anywhere! He can go from the Tengen Gate to the Shiba House in seconds! Who's to say Mike and Mia are even in this forest?"

"Because we have nowhere else to look," Antonio shrugged.

"I should have suffocated him in his sleep," Serena muttered. "I should have sliced his head off when he wasn't looking…"

"Don't blame yourself, Serena," Jayden told her.

"How can I not?" Serena asked. "I fell in love with a monster, and the worst part is, I knew he was a monster! I knew what he did and what he planned on doing and…"

"Mentor was right," Antonio said, "You fell in love with the human. The Dekker you loved would never do this. He tricked you."

"It shouldn't have happened," Serena growled.

"You really fell in love with him?" Emily asked her older sister. Serena sighed loudly and nodded her head.

"Yeah, Emy. I did. I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but sometime between his arrival at the Tengen Gate and him leaving the Shiba House, I fell in love."

"And I thought Dad was going to hate my boyfriend," Emily murmured. She curled into a ball and rested her chin on her knees. "Now he'll hate yours for killing mine before he could kill mine."

"He'll hate mine for trying to kill you," Serena sighed. "If he ever meets Dekker, that is. Not that I would ever let that happen."

"We should get back to searching," Jayden announced to the team. "If we're out here we may as well do something. Sitting here only puts you guys in more danger and it does nothing to help Mike or Mia."

Emily nodded and gently gave her dog a pat on the butt, "Scruffy, where's Mike?" she asked the golden retriever. Scruffy bounced up, looked around the forest for Mike before darting off in search of his male owner. The Rangers could only hope he was actually leading them somewhere and that he wasn't as clueless as they were.


	182. A Much Needed Break

"Guys, maybe we should stop," Antonio called ahead to the boys before turning back to see Emily struggling to help Serena walk. He couldn't tell which sister seemed more tired, but he knew they needed rest. The sun was now high over the trees, and even in the shade of the forest it was still beating down on the Rangers and threatened to give them all heat stroke if they didn't stop to rest soon.

Jayden turned at the sound of Antonio's voice and saw his best friend helping the two girls to sit down. He grabbed Kevin's arm and nodded his head at the blue Ranger. Kevin looked ahead once more before nodding and turning back. He pulled out his Samuraizer and traced a symbol. Suddenly, there were five cups of water on the ground for the Rangers and a little bowl for Scruffy.

"Good thing we still have you," Antonio smirked before downing his water quickly. He leaned against a tree and sighed loudly, "We should have stayed home."

"We'll find them," Kevin stated. "We have to. They're counting on us."

"If they're even still alive," Emily whined. She stared at the cup of water in her hand. "He's going to kill us all, isn't he?"

"He won't touch you," Serena assured her sister and stroked her hair gently. She looked up at the boys, "I'll kill him."

"You won't if you're dehydrated," Antonio told her. He pointed to her water, "Drink it."

"You know what's funny?" Emily asked. She swirled the water in her cup as she spoke. "Mia was the only one of us who didn't want to kill him and he took her first."

"That's not funny," Kevin growled, "that just goes to show how much of a monster he is," he pointed to Serena, "He betrayed the only person who believed in him and he kidnapped the only person who was starting to believe in him again. He doesn't want redemption, he wants blood."

"He'll never get it," Jayden said. "Not while I live and breathe."

"That's the whole point of the duel, amigo," Antonio shrugged.

"I think they're already dead," Emily sighed. "I think he took Mia away, killed her, and then came back for Mike. Maybe Mike was dead before I woke up, and Dekker just took him away for no good reason."

"To keep us wondering," Kevin nodded his head.

Emily looked up at Kevin and then dumped her water out. There was no point trying to keep herself alive if Dekker was going to kill her anyways.

Suddenly, another glass of water was handed to her. She looked up to see Jayden holding his out.

"Drink it," he demanded. She shook her head. He held it closer to her face, "Drink this before I have you sharing with the dog."

"You need it…"

"Dekker wants me at my best," Jayden reminded her. "Maybe he'll call off the duel when he realises I'm dehydrated."

"And if he doesn't you won't be able to save any of us," Emily pointed out. "We'll all be dead, including you."

"So?" Jayden asked. "I don't care about myself."

"But the sealing symbol…"

"Let me worry about that, Kevin," Jayden sighed. He offered his water again to Emily. She shook her head.

"I'll drink later."

"Em…"

"When we're all back home. If we're not going home I don't want to drink."

"I will drag you back home right now," Serena threatened her sister. Emily shook her head, curled up into a ball and buried her face in her arms.

"I'm not drinking until we find Mike and Mia."

"You're so annoying," Jayden grumbled before dumping his water over Emily's head. If she wouldn't drink it, at least it would cool her down a little bit. She glared up at her leader when she felt herself being splashed.

"You're mean."

"And I'm ready to look for them again," Kevin said. He helped Antonio back to his feet and turned to the two girls. "Are you two…?"

"As ready as we'll ever be," Serena nodded. She pushed herself up and looked down at her baby sister. She held her hand out for Emily, "We'll find them safe and sound, I promise."

"You're a liar."

"Emy," Serena smiled, "do you trust me?"

"Yeah."

Serena continued to hold her hand out and Emily sighed loudly as she took it.


	183. Emily Falls

It had been a couple of hours now that the Rangers had been searching for their teammates and the sun, heat, exercise and lack of proper rest was starting to take its toll. Serena, not wanting her friends or sister to worry about her, hid her pain very well, but everyone could see she more than ready to fall over and never get up.

Still, no one had ever seen her give up. They were sure she would make it a little longer and they were sure that if they needed her she would find her second wind.

Jayden hadn't had anything to eat or drink in hours and he was finally feeling it. He knew Dekker was too pissed off to care what state he was in, but he was holding onto hope that his weakened state would encourage Dekker to release his friends and maybe try again another time. A time when Jayden would truly be ready to fight and defend all his friends _before_ anything happened to any of them.

Antonio was leaning on Jayden, using his best friend for support. He had the most energy of the group, but he was still tired. He was starting to think he should bring the search group to a stop for the night so they could all sleep. None of them were in any condition to rescue Mike or Mia and he was sure that if they found their friends alive, Mike and Mia would be worried about the state of their rescuers.

He looked over to Kevin. He was probably the only one still walking as if he wasn't exhausted. The look on his face and the sweat on his brow said otherwise, but at first glance it seemed like Kevin would be willing to walk all night if he needed. Antonio smiled slightly at Kevin and hoped one day he would find someone who would love him as much as Kevin loved Mia.

At the back of the group, the very far back, Emily walked on her own. She had given up on helping her sister once Serena noticed she was too tired to be of any service to anyone. Since then, Emily had slowly started falling behind. Like Jayden, she hadn't eaten or drunk in hours, refusing anytime food or water was offered to her. The others knew she was completely distraught, just like Kevin, over the loss of her boyfriend and her best friend. They knew normally she would be the one to keep hope alive and she would be the last one to give up on the idea that maybe her friends were alive, but without Mia's and Mike's support, Emily just wasn't Emily anymore.

Her friends would glance back at her from time to time to make sure Dekker hadn't snatched her, and they left her with Scruffy's leash, thinking the dog would bark or whine if Dekker got anywhere near Emily. It was the best they could do for her, given how tired they all were.

Suddenly, Emily's vision started to blur and she fell to her hands and knees. Scruffy was instantly by her side, trying to comfort her just as Emily succumbed to her exhaust and landed face down in the dirt and leaves. Scruffy was tired as well, and believed this to be the perfect napping spot. He laid down next to her and drifted off as well.

Dekker watched from up in the trees. He couldn't take Emily just yet, not with Serena so close, but he was starting to see he had no choice. The Rangers and Serena were keeping their eye on her, but they were walking away and they were getting rather far. Realising he would be blamed for Emily's sudden weakness, no matter what he did, he jumped down and scooped her up in his arms.

He glanced down the path. The Rangers and Serena were almost out of sight now. He knew he had two options. He could return Emily to her team to show Serena he meant no harm to her or her family, or he could take her home and give her the treatment she needed, all while cutting the Rangers' numbers down from four to three plus Serena.

As he thought about what to do, he remembered the yellow Ranger had saved his life once. She had been returning the favour because he had saved her sister, but regardless, Dekker felt her owed her. Had she not stepped in, Jayden would have killed him. Emily was lucky Dekker now valued his life, especially if Serena was in it, and he was happy she had saved him back then.

Not wanting to confront the Rangers as a group just yet and knowing he had a debt to pay, Dekker set off for home with Emily in his arms.

-Samurai-

Having not checked up on her sister in a while, Serena finally decided to glance over her shoulder. When she didn't see Emily right away she told herself not to panic. Her little sister was much slower than the group and would likely reappear from behind the trees in a matter of moments.

But the seconds ticked by and there was no sign of Emily or even Scruffy. Serena turned back to the boys and raced forward to catch up to them. She grabbed Kevin's arms, stopping him in his tracks and she pointed back down the path.

"She's gone," she whispered and she felt Kevin's muscles tighten up. She turned to Antonio and Jayden and saw fear, anger and frustration written all over their bodies.

Jayden summoned his sword suddenly and stepped away from the group.

"Dekker!" he shouted loudly, scaring the birds and forest creatures into hiding. "Come out and fight! I know you're here!"

"If he touches her…" Serena growled. Antonio wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"He wouldn't. He's not stupid…"

"I've had it," Kevin screamed, kicking up the leaves in his frustration. "He's messing with us and we're letting him!"

"Not anymore," Jayden shook his head before he heard a whining in the distance. The four of them all turned and looked back down the path to find Scruffy racing over to them with the end of his leash dragging through the dirt.

Serena knelt down and called the dog to her arms. She hugged him tightly, fearing the worst had happened to her sister. As she held the dog, she felt him tugging on her clothes. She pulled away from him to wrestle her shirt from his mouth and that was when she noticed he was trying to smell her.

"What are you…?" she asked the dog, pushing his nose away from her side. It was then she realised what Scruffy was doing. When Emily had been helping her walk she had been leaning on her. It seemed Scruffy recognised Emily's scent on her clothes and if he did…

Scruffy took off running, back to where he had gone down for a quick nap. The Rangers chased after him until he stopped by a patch of dirt. He pressed his nose into it and sniffed as his tail started to wag. He then started to bark as he picked up another scent that seemed to trail off into the forest with his owner's scent. He made his way over to Serena and picked up the end of his leash in his mouth before holding it out for her. Serena took it. As soon as it was in her hand Scruffy took off running and barking, pulling Serena with him.

"Follow that dog!" Antonio called, grabbing Jayden and Kevin's wrist to pull his friends along with him


	184. She Can Change Him

Scruffy raced around in circles, having lost both scents he was following. They simply stopped, as if the two people who created them had just disappeared into thin air. He was whining loudly, disappointed he couldn't find his owner.

Serena, Kevin, Antonio and Jayden were searching the in the bushes, around the trees, behind the rocks, and anywhere else they could for any signs of their friends or Dekker. If the trail just stopped there had to be some kind of clue as to where Dekker had taken Emily, and maybe Mike and Mia as well. At this point, they would be satisfied with finding a dead body. It would be hard for them to cope, but at least they would know what happened to their teammates.

After an hour of searching everywhere, Serena finally lost control. The dirt, rocks and even the ground began to shake while she trembled in fear and anger. Antonio placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye.

"Save it for Dekker," he told her before pulling her into his arms.

"It's my fault…" she sobbed into his shoulder. He shook his head and rubbed her back comfortingly.

"He's got to be around here somewhere," Jayden screamed, slashing through a small tree with his sword. The tree came crashing down and Jayden dropped to his knees beside it. He leaned against the fallen trunk and rested his head in his hands. "He can't do this."

"He's obviously been here," Kevin said, looking down at Scruffy. The dog was trying his best to pick up on Emily's or Dekker's scent again but it was useless. Whenever he followed their trail he always stopped right at a patch of dirt and leaves. It wasn't likely that they just disappeared, but, of course, Dekker had done some pretty unlikely things in the past. This could have been another part of his little game. "If he was here once, he'll come back again."

"I guess that means we're setting up camp here?" Antonio asked as he lowered Serena onto the ground. "If so, there's a stream nearby. I can catch up something to eat."

"I'm not hungry," Serena protested but Jayden and Kevin agreed to the idea of food. They were starving. Jayden decided to head out with Antonio, figuring Dekker wouldn't try to take either Antonio or Kevin if they were with himself or Serena. It was the only safe bet he felt he could make.

Once Jayden and Antonio were gone, Kevin took a seat on the ground right next to Serena and he pulled out Mia's Samuraizer. He toyed with it for a moment before holding it tightly in his hand and leaning his head back to try and stop the tears.

Serena stopped petting Scruffy and nudged Kevin, "What about Mike and Emily's Samuraizers?" she asked. For a moment Kevin had a smile on his face. He turned on Mia's Samuraizer and tried to locate Mike or Emily. Unfortunately there was no signal. He sighed, shook his head and turned off the device.

"Nothing," he sighed. "At least they have them, though."

"I'm not really comforted by that," Serena said. She rested her head on Kevin's shoulder. "Mom's going to kill me if I go home alone…"

"You won't," Kevin promised her. "We… we have to find them."

"I just wish we knew for sure what happened to them," Serena whimpered. "I mean… I saw Dekker grab Mia… he wanted to kill her but he didn't. I want to believe he didn't but… maybe…"

"That same thought's been running through my head since she disappeared," Kevin nodded. "And just thinking of… of anything… I'm sorry," Kevin apologized as the tears took control and he found himself sobbing like a baby in front of Serena. He didn't want to break down like this, not when things were getting tough and he needed to stay strong, but he just couldn't contain himself any longer. He was tired, scared, worried, anxious. He hadn't gotten much rest, never mind a good night's sleep, since Mia vanished, he was hungry, he was thirsty and he couldn't see a way out. He felt stuck and useless. He knew, wherever Mia was, if she was still alive, she was counting on him, but he didn't think he could save her.

"Hopefully they're together," Serena whispered in his ear as she wrapped her arms around him. "They're a strong trio, at least…"

-Samurai-

Mike pulled on his chain, which was fastened around his neck. He desperately wanted it to snap or at least somehow lengthen as he tried to reach for Emily. Dekker had set her down just out of Mike and Mia's reach while he tended to her. Mike and Mia both saw she looked sick and they wanted to be the ones to take care of her. They didn't trust Dekker.

"You can't do this!" Mike screamed. He ran to the end of his chain and was pulled backwards onto his butt. He coughed as he struggled back to his feet to run again. Mia grabbed his arm before he could get up, though.

"Then I will leave her to die," Dekker shrugged. He tossed aside the cloth he had been using to cool Emily down and reached for another chain. He secured it around her neck before getting up and walking away. Mike knew the chain was too short. It wouldn't allow Emily anywhere near him when she woke up. He tried to lunge forward again, but Mia pulled him back and slammed him into the ground. She pinned him down and glared at him.

"You're going to kill yourself!" she screamed. She slapped him in the face, "Smarten up before I do it for you!"

Dekker shook his head, "Tsk, tsk, Rangers. You'll never accomplish anything if you don't work together."

"Shut up!" Mia shouted. She pointed to Emily, "At least move her closer to us."

Again, Dekker shook his head and smirked, "She'll have a partner soon. Don't worry."

"Serena's going to hate you," Mia muttered. She knew it would be the only thing she could say that would wipe the smirk right off his face. "Please let us help you…"

"Give up, Mia," Mike groaned, pushing her off and crawling back to the dirt wall. He curled up against it and sighed, "The man's a freaking psycho. No one can save him."

"You were going to kill me," Mia continued to speak with Dekker, "but you stopped. I know why. I saw you looking at my window. You saw her."

"Even if I wanted redemption, this is Urumasa's fight," Dekker drew his sword. "I promised you your lives until the duel."

"So, you would rather spend eternity completely alone?" Mia asked. "That sounds like a funny thing to wish for. Maybe I would prefer it if you killed me now. At least I got a taste of love and forgiveness."

"Shut up," Dekker spat. "This is all of your fault. My suffering is because of you."

"Maybe we were right about you Dekker," Mia shrugged. "You are not worthy of Serena. You gave up on her the minute things got too hard. She doesn't deserve a man like that! She needs someone better than you."

"Shut up," Dekker growled. He was starting to lose patience with his prisoner. He wanted to take the pink Ranger first for revenge, but she had been getting under his skin since she had regained consciousness. It took everything he had and more to keep himself from killing her before the time was right.

"If you piss him off, I'm not defending you," Mike muttered to Mia from his corner. "You're playing a dangerous game."

"I would listen to the green Ranger if I were you," Dekker glared at Mia. She glared back at him.

"And I would seriously reconsider following a sword's orders if I were you," she retorted. "We can help you. You just have to earn our trust."

"That's impossible," both Dekker and Mike grumbled. Mia threw her hands up in the air and rolled her eyes.

"You're both as bad as each other. At least, if you keep this up, I won't have to deal with both of you. One of you will be dead and someone, namely Serena, is going to be upset either way."

Mia crawled forward, getting as close to Dekker as she could before her chain choked her. She looked up at him.

"You are human, Dekker. You can make that choice. Serena believed in you until you gave up on yourself. Please, don't make her feel worse than she already does. I know you can make her smile again."

"She will need food and water," Dekker pointed to Emily. "You two must be hungry as well. There is a stream not far from here. I will be back."

Dekker left the underground cave and Mia and Mike once again found themselves alone. Mike glanced at Mia and saw she was smiling to herself. He tossed some dirt at her.

"You're pathetic."

"Why take care of us if he's just going to kill us?" Mia asked with a smirk. "He hasn't fed me at all since he grabbed me."

"So?" Mike shook his head. "You're deluded if you think you can change him."

"I can't," Mia grinned, "but I know he can change."


	185. Back To Five

By the time Jayden and Antonio got back from their fishing trip, Serena, Kevin, and even Scruffy had fallen asleep. The two remaining Rangers decided not to disturb them until the food was ready to eat, knowing they needed their rest.

Jayden quickly started a fire with his symbol power and he huddled in close. The temperature was starting to fall now that the sun was setting.

Antonio started to prepare the fish. He held it over the fire with a smile.

"Reminds me of the few times dad and I went camping," he said, turning to Jayden. The red Ranger shrugged.

"Only you probably had a tent," he answered. "And your friends were all safe and sound back home."

"Nothing's ever perfect," Antonio shrugged. When the fish was ready he pulled it from the fire and offered it to Jayden. The red Ranger shook his head and gestured to Kevin and Serena. Antonio refused.

"You're going to take part in a duel," he said. "You're going to eat and stay strong."

"That's what Dekker wants. I don't want to give him what he wants when he's taking everything from me."

"They're counting on you," Antonio said. "Keep your energy up. You might be the only one that can save them."

Jayden ripped the fish from the stick and ate it reluctantly. He shot Antonio looks as he chomped on his fish. He knew his best friend was only trying to take care of him and he appreciated that, but he didn't want to be taken care of if he couldn't even keep his team safe.

As he finished his fish he looked at Antonio, who was just starting on his own meal. He felt his stomach turn knowing there was a chance his best friend was next. Antonio had been nothing but helpful to him, especially since Mia disappeared.

"Thanks," he whispered. Antonio turned his head.

"For what?" he asked.

Jayden shrugged, "I don't know. Everything I guess. You're a good friend, Antonio."

"Hey, only the best for the best," Antonio smiled.

"I will fight, you know that, right?" Jayden asked. "If anything happens to you, you can trust that I'll be coming for you."

"I know," Antonio nodded. "That's all you've been doing for the others. I know you don't like to say it, amigo, but it's obvious you love them. I'm sure, wherever they are, they're waiting for you."

He held out the rest of his fish for Jayden, "Are you still hungry? You need it more than I do."

"I'm good," Jayden shook his head. "Serena and Kevin will need to eat too."

"Should we wake them up now?" Antonio asked. "How long do you think they've been sleeping for?"

"They can sleep again after dinner."

"I doubt they'll have much say on whether or not they'll be sleeping," Antonio said, "I think they're hurting more than both of us."

"I wouldn't blame them," Jayden nodded, "but wake them up, they need to eat."

"You're the boss," Antonio saluted his best friend before tossing the leftovers of his cooked fish at the pair, pulling them from their sleep. "We caught bass!"

"Whoo…" Serena yawned sarcastically. "I'm eating bass, sleeping in the dirt in the middle of the forest and the wind keep howling through the trees just to make sure I feel threatened. Is there anything else you want to do or say that'll remind me we're down three friends?"

"Uh… no…"

"Good. Where's my fish? I'm starving."

"It's cooking," Antonio promised. He looked at Kevin as the blue Ranger rubbed his eyes. "You should eat too, Kevin. Keep up your strength."

"You don't have to convince me. I'm starving too," he yawned. The two waited patiently for Antonio to finish with their meals and thanked him as he handed them their fish.

When everyone was done eating they tried to get comfortable in the dirt for a quick sleep. No one wanted to close their eyes and nod off, but they were so tired they knew they needed the rest. Antonio promised to take first watch, just in case Dekker struck again. He kept the fire lit and clutched his Samuraizer in his hand tightly.

"We'll find you guys," he whispered as he looked down at his morpher, "I promise. Just hold on."

"Your friends can't hear you," a voice spoke softly. Antonio looked up, eyes wide. He reached over to shake his friends awake but Dekker shook his head.

"Alert them of my presence and I'll kill your friends," he threatened. "Not even you are fast enough to stop me."

"Let them go," Antonio growled, getting to his feet to fight. "Whatever you want, we'll give it to you."

"I want them," Dekker smirked as he slowly pulled out Urumasa, "and you."

"Touch me and I'll scream," Antonio threatened. "These guys will wake up."

"Then I'll run back home and I'll kill your friends," Dekker shrugged. "We've been over this. Either come with me quietly, or you can make this very painful for someone else."

"Why don't you cut the crap?" Antonio shook his head. "Knowing you they're probably already dead. You had no problem killing that innocent man."

"If you really believed that you wouldn't be risking your life trying to find them," Dekker said. He lunged forward and grabbed Antonio. He held Urumasa to his neck, "Walk away quietly."

"Never," Antonio raised his voice. It was the last thing he did before his world went black.

-Samurai-

When Kevin woke up it was morning. He rubbed his eyes and yawned loudly while wondering to himself why he hadn't been woken up sooner. Antonio was supposed to wake him for his lookout shift in the middle of the night. Clearly he had missed it.

He sat up and looked around. Serena and Jayden were still safe and asleep, but Antonio was nowhere to be found. Knowing Serena and Jayden were the only two people who were completely safe if left alone, Kevin stood up and walked to the river, thinking maybe Antonio had gone to get some breakfast.

But Antonio wasn't by the river. Kevin tried to search the forest right around there campsite. Still no sign of Antonio. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Samuraizer, hoping to locate Antonio.

He could only pick up on two signals: Mia's, because her Samuraizer was in his other pocket, and Jayden's. That meant only one thing: Dekker.

"You coward!" Kevin screamed, throwing his Samuraizer to the ground. "Come out and fight, you monster! I'll kill you! I swear I will!"

His threats were heard by no one. He was too far from the campsite for his voice to wake up Jayden or Serena, and he was sure Dekker was long gone with Antonio at this point. He smashed his fist into a tree trunk and began to wonder why Dekker couldn't have taken him instead. The only thing he hated more than his friends disappearing was that he was still as useless as ever. He had no idea where they were, if they were hurt, or if they were even alive. At least if he was with them he could take care of them, especially Mia.

He beat the trunk of the tree until his knuckles were raw. When he was too sore to continue he slumped forward.

Dekker had just come out of hiding to clear his head. Living with four Rangers who were all begging for him to let them go was really starting to get on his nerves. He needed something entertaining to do.

So when he came across the blue Ranger crying into a tree trunk, he thought this would be the perfect chance to strike again. He cracked his knuckles and stepped over quietly to Kevin. He was surprised the blue Ranger never picked up on his presence, but then again, his girlfriend had been the same way. At least Kevin had the excuse of saying his back was turned.

When Dekker was close enough he grabbed Kevin by the back of the head and slammed him into the tree. Kevin slumped forward, but he wasn't done yet, Dekker had made sure of it. He held his head in pain and rolled onto his back to see who had attacked him.

As soon as he saw it was Dekker he was ready to fight. He had dropped his Samuraizer but he knew he didn't need it. There was a stream nearby that he could use to summon his powers. He lunged at Dekker and succeeded in knocking him down. He pinned him to the ground and traced a symbol with his finger. Suddenly, Dekker felt himself being blasted by a stream of water. The attack threatened to drown him, but he didn't panic. He grabbed Kevin's face in his hand and shoved him off. The water stopped hitting him and Dekker jumped to his feet and kicked Kevin in the stomach before he could get up and fight.

"This was fun," he laughed, brushing his hair away from his eyes. "Unfortunately all good things have to come to an end."

"Is that why you live forever?" Kevin coughed. He got to his hands and knees and clutched his stomach. Dekker chuckled mockingly before kicking Kevin over.

"Be nice to me," he said, "I can take you to see your girlfriend."

"You're lying," Kevin shook his head. "I know you killed her."

"Why would I do such a thing when there's no one around to witness her suffering?" Dekker grabbed Kevin's shirt and pulled him up to his feet. "Besides, you once told me she was worth more to you than your very life. What's the point of protecting yourself if she is dead? This is a risk I think you want to take."

"Where is she?" Kevin asked. Dekker let him go and pointed down a path.

"I have an underground cave not to from here. I can access it via portal, but you can get in and out through a trapdoor as well."

"Show me."

"I have a meeting with the red Ranger," Dekker shook his head. "Now that I have five Rangers, it's time I announce my duel."

"Whatever," Kevin growled. "Where's the door?"

"Under the leaves, behind a stone that has been cut by Urumasa. You'll know it when you see it."

Kevin nodded and raced down the path, following Dekker's directions and leaving the mad warrior to complete his twisted mission.

Dekker didn't lie when he said Kevin would recognise the stone. There weren't too many in the area, but he noticed there was one that was perfectly flat on the top. There was only one thing that could cut such a stone in half and leave a clean cut: Urumasa.

He raced behind the stone and saw a pile of leaves. He brushed them out of the way and just as Dekker promised there was a trap door. He pulled it open. He was a little surprised, but very relieved, that the door wasn't locked in some way. Forgetting to use the ladder, Kevin jumped right down the hole and landed hard on the dirt.

Four heads turned to him when they saw him falling down the hole, but Kevin only wanted to see one as he pushed himself back to his feet. His eyes met Mia's and he raced over to her, swallowing her in a hug as the water works began not only in his eyes, but Mia's as well.


	186. The Day Before The Duel

_Author's Note: Three chapters today. Why? I'm taking a few days off and spending time with my family, so hopefully three chapters will hold you over until I get back. The chapters are already all written out, unfortunately I doubt I'll be able to get access to the internet and even if I do, family comes first. The next chapter should be posted no later than the weekend. Until then, enjoy!_

* * *

Dekker gulped as he approached the Ranger's camp and his fears were confirmed. He had hoped that Serena would have gone home by now, for one reason or another. He didn't want her to see him like this. He didn't want her to see the side of him that he hated.

But, of course, knowing Serena, he wasn't surprised to see she was still around. She was likely worried for her sister, though Dekker could honestly say he had only taken Emily for her benefit. The yellow Ranger hadn't been well when he took her and he had taken care of her.

Serena wouldn't understand that, though. Family always came first; she had made that clear to him long ago. He knew Serena would see him as nothing more than a monster; a monster who had put her friends in danger and threatened her baby sister's safety.

Pushing his fear of disappointing her aside, he walked right up to the camp and tapped Jayden's foot with his own until Jayden woke up. The red Ranger stirred and glanced around the camp site as he opened his eyes. He wanted to make sure his friends were safe.

Sadly, the first thing he noticed was that Kevin and Antonio were missing. He bolted up into a seated position and called Serena's name to wake her up. It was then that he noticed Dekker standing over him.

Dekker had never seen the red Ranger morph so quickly and he took a step back, holding his hands up to show he meant no harm. Jayden drew his Spin Sword.

"What have you done with them?" he shouted. Serena pulled herself up using the tree and stood beside Jayden.

"They are safe, for now," Dekker promised. Serena placed her hand on Jayden shoulder and nodded. The only thing she didn't regret about spending so much time with Dekker was the fact that she knew him well. She knew he wasn't lying.

"Where are they?" Jayden asked. His tone was still angry but he lowered his voice slightly. Dekker shook his head.

"I will not tell you."

"Where is my sister?" Serena screamed stepping forward so Dekker knew she had no trouble going against him.

"She was sick," Dekker told her. "I took her so she could recover."

"She was fine with me!" Serena shouted. She placed her hands on Dekker's chest and shoved him backwards. Dekker nearly stumbled over but recovered his balance. He looked Serena in the eyes.

"I haven't hurt her. Nor have I done anything to…"

"I saw you beating up Mia!" Serena screamed. "You probably did the same to the rest of them."

Dekker lowered his head. He couldn't deny that he had allowed himself to harm the other Samurai.

"What are you doing here, Dekker?" Jayden hissed. He figured there was a reason Dekker had confronted him and he wanted to know what it was. If it meant rescuing his friends, he would do anything.

"Our duel," Dekker stated. "You have twenty four hours to prepare yourself. Go home, eat well, get some proper sleep and I'll meet you by the sea. I'll bring the Rangers."

"Unharmed," Jayden insisted. Dekker shook his head.

"Depends on whether or not they give me trouble," he said. "If they do not cooperate…"

"Hurt any of them and you'll deal with me," Serena growled.

"I'll try to keep my hands off your sister," Dekker promised. Serena shook her head and dove for Dekker. She knocked him to the ground and landed a blow to his face with her fist. Dekker didn't strike back, nor did he defend himself. He couldn't risk hurting Serena.

When she noticed he didn't fight back she scoffed.

"You coward."

"I cannot hurt you."

"Too late!" Serena screamed. She beat her hands into his chest, spit in his face and then rose to her feet. She grabbed the red Ranger's arm and pulled him away. "Leave him."

Jayden powered down and gave Dekker one last look. He picked up the end of Scruffy's leash and the two of them walked the dog back home.

Still on his back, Dekker pounded his fists into the earth and screamed loudly in frustration. He laid there for what felt like ages before remembering the blue Ranger was unchained. He didn't want to risk anything going wrong before the duel so he got up and headed back to his hideout.

-Samurai-

"I thought you were dead," Kevin whispered into Mia's ear as he held her tight. He never wanted to let go, afraid that he might lose her again. Mia had her arms wrapped tightly around him as well, happy to see him again. They hadn't been apart for very long, but it had been way too long in her mind.

Mia chuckled and wiped the tears from Kevin's eyes, "So I've been told," she gestured over his shoulder to where the other Rangers, who had all been taken after her, were sitting and watching the scene. Kevin smiled at them and then turned back to Mia, looking her in the eyes.

"I don't care about them. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"Dude!" Mike frowned. "Thanks a lot, man!"

Mia shook her head, "I'm fine. I've been hurt worse. It looks like he got a few good shots on you though."

"Worth every ounce of pain," Kevin smiled, pulling her back in close.

Mike glanced across the underground cave at Antonio and Emily and rolled his eyes. He picked up a handful of dirt and tossed it at the pink and blue couple.

"Okay, okay, can we save the reunion for when you guys have a room?" he asked. "There's still three other Rangers here waiting for help."

"Are Jayden and Serena coming?" Emily asked hopefully. Kevin had come into their prison willingly, allowing her to believe that the red Ranger and her sister weren't too far behind. But when Kevin shook his head all her hope vanished. She curled back up into a ball and leaned her back against the wall.

"They're coming," Antonio promised her. He reached out and placed his hand on her arm. Emily pulled away from him.

"I want to go home," she muttered.

"I'll get you home," Kevin said, "I'll get you all home, I…"

Dekker appeared suddenly from a crack in the cave and he picked up the last chain. He looked at the blue Ranger.

"I don't want to hurt anyone, but I will if you don't do as I say."

"You want me to give in?" Kevin shook his head. "No way!"

"You will only be here for one night," Dekker told him. "Now take a seat so I can lock you in."

"No…"

Dekker drew his sword and pointed it at Kevin and Mia.

"I have great accuracy," he said as Kevin tried to shield Mia. "Defend her all you want, I'll still get through you."

Kevin could tell Dekker wasn't lying. Dekker had centuries of training under his belt and skills that surpassed his own. He sat down on the ground next to Mia and let Dekker fasten the chain around his neck. As the man warrior stepped away, Kevin pulled Mia back into his arms and whispered promises of safety into her ear.

Dekker walked off, "I will be training for most of the day. Do not disturb me."

"Like we have a choice," Mike muttered. He stuck his tongue out behind Dekker's back as the warrior disappeared. He then turned and glanced across the cave at Emily, "Eat your fish."

She shook her head. She wasn't hungry.

"It's bass," Antonio told her, pushing the fish closer to her. Emily grabbed it and tossed it to the other side of the cave, just out of everyone's reach. Antonio and Kevin exchanged looks. Last time they saw her she hadn't taken the water when it was offered to her; now she wasn't eating.

"We're all scared, Em," Mia said softly, "but we have to eat."

"We'll die anyways!"

"Don't talk like that," Mike stated, raising his voice slightly. He wished his chains weren't too short to reach her. He knew she would feel better if he, or even Mia, could hold her and keep her safe. She didn't trust Antonio like she trusted them. He got up and walked as close to her as he could get. "We'll all be fine. Jayden and Serena will figure this out."

"I want to go home," Emily cried. Antonio wrapped her up in his arms, trying to be of comfort. Kevin watched sadly before feeling Mia shake uncontrollably in his arms. He squeezed her and kissed the top of her head.

"I'll keep you safe," he whispered just for her to hear.

Mike fell back into the dirt and grabbed his head with his hands. He wanted to rip his chains from the wall and beat Dekker to death, but he already knew the chains would never give and his outburst would only scare Emily more.

He took a few deep breathes, only to regret it. He groaned loudly.

"Do you know what the worst part is?" he asked as he turned to Emily's discarded fish, "It's really starting to smell bad in here."


	187. First Step To Redemption

"I told you not to leave," Mentor Ji frowned, trying to contain his anger as Jayden finished telling him exactly what had happened in the forest. He shook his head and walked away, only a few paces. "You put your entire team in danger."

"At least we know we can help them," Jayden stated. "Dekker wants the duel. It'll happen tomorrow. He's going to bring the Rangers…"

"In what state?" Mentor asked. He wanted to believe that Dekker would do no harm because he was too in love with Serena to hurt her friends and sister, but Dekker seemed to be on a rampage and it was very likely that this war between him and the Rangers could result in at least one death. "Have you seen any of the missing Rangers personally?"

"He didn't lie," Serena cut in. "I know he was telling the truth when he said they were safe."

"Safe and unharmed are two different things, Serena," Mentor told her. He shook his head and pointed to the bedrooms. "You both may as well rest up. This is one fight I'm afraid we cannot afford to lose."

"As opposed to all other fights where losing is just fine and dandy," Serena scoffed as she marched off. Before leaving the room completely she made sure she destroyed something of value to Mentor Ji and knocked one of his bonsai right off the stool.

Jayden, seeing her outburst, looked to Ji, "You can probably understand…"

"She has been left heartbroken," Mentor nodded. "She is worried for her sister and the rest of her friends. To be honest, I thought she would do worse."

Mentor placed both his hands on Jayden's shoulders and looked his son in the eyes.

"You must bring all five Rangers home. The Samurai team cannot work without the Samurai."

"I'll bring them back, Ji," Jayden spat. "This is my fault. I won't let them die for me."

"Remember, Jayden, you are also important."

"Not as important as they think though, huh?"

"To bed," Mentor pointed to Jayden's bedroom door. Jayden shook his head.

"That's mine and Antonio's room. I'm not sleeping there tonight. I'll take the couch."

"As you wish," Mentor nodded. He picked up the pieces of the broken bonsai before leaving. Jayden sighed loudly, running his hand through his hair. He knew he needed to get some sleep but he was too worked up and too worried about his friends to even consider laying down in the safety of his own home. He couldn't sleep knowing they were probably scared, hungry and waiting for him.

He would get some rest, because he needed it to save them, but he wouldn't sleep now.

He walked to Emily and Mia's room, knowing Serena would choose to hide out there. He knocked once before letting himself in.

Serena was sitting on Emily's bed, hugging her sister's pillow to her chest. Jayden sat down in front of her on the bed and placed his hand on her knee.

"Dekker obviously cares about you still," he said. "He knows hurting Emily would…"

"He doesn't have to hurt her for her to get hurt," Serena sighed. She put the pillow down on her lap, "I should have been watching her. I should have looked back and…"

"We looked back as often as we could. If we had looked back any more we would have started running into trees."

"Then how did he get her?" Serena asked. "How could Dekker just swoop in and grab her right out from under my nose? I didn't watch her and…"

"You did your best," Jayden tried to reassure her.

"Did you hear anything?" Serena whispered. "Just before Dekker took Mia we heard her scream. When he took Mike we heard the glass breaking. Why didn't we hear Emily scream?"

"She would scream too," Jayden lowered his head. "But Antonio and Kevin are gone and we didn't hear anything from…"

"We were asleep," Serena told him. "We were probably passed out, completely dead to the world, when he grabbed those two. Emily was right behind us… with Scruffy! We should have heard something."

"Don't beat yourself up over this," Jayden took her hand.

"Dekker said she was sick…"

"Don't listen to him," Jayden replied. "Don't listen to a word he says."

"Are you scared?" Serena asked, looking up at Jayden with terrified eyes. "I am. I know what he's capable of."

"We are going to save them," Jayden promised her. "You are just as involved in this as I am. If anyone can stop Dekker, it's you and me."

Serena wiped her eyes, "I want him dead but… do you know the weirdest part about all this?"

"What?"

"I… I don't think I… I want you guys safe… I want Emily safe… but I… if Mia was right… I don't… you can't…"

Jayden was starting to get what Serena was trying to say so he nodded his head.

"We'll figure it out," he said, getting off the bed so she could lie down. "We're not going to let them down. Any of them."

-Samurai-

Kevin was curled up in his own little corner of the cave with Mia wrapped up tightly in his arms. He cared for his other Rangers but with his future completely unknown, he wanted to spend all his time with her.

"Dekker said this would only be for one night," Mia whispered. Kevin hushed her softly and shook his head.

"Don't worry…"

"What is he going to do tomorrow?" Mia asked. "He only promised we would be alive until the duel. He could… he could do anything."

"He won't," Kevin promised her. "He's not going to try anything because he knows we'll fight back. We won't go down without a fight."

"He already got all of us," Mia stated. "He's stronger than us… he can do whatever he wants…"

"He won't…"

"He's hurting," Mia muttered. "I know he is. People do crazy things when they're hurting. What if…"

Kevin shook his head and squeezed her comfortingly, "We'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

He rocked her gently in his arms to try and sooth her while he glanced over to his other teammates. Antonio was still trying to get Emily to eat some of the fish that Dekker had brought back a little while ago and Mike was tugging on his chain. He felt bad for the green Ranger.

"Give it up," he called to Mike. "It's not going to break."

"There's nothing else to do," Mike protested. He fell onto his back and put his feet up against the wall so he could push against it while pulling on the chain.

"What are you going to do if it snaps?" Kevin asked. Mike simply looked over at Emily. Kevin sighed. He wasn't going to let Mia go, but he knew it was hard for the green Ranger to watch him comfort his girlfriend while Mike's was making herself sick. Emily wouldn't eat or drink anything. She just kept muttering how it was useless to try to stay alive and that she wanted to go home.

Kevin had to admire what Dekker had done. Taking each of the Rangers one by one had helped him greatly by striking fear into their hearts, weakening them considerably and making them easier to pick off and less likely to fight when he did get them into this underground cave. The way he had set the chains up was also brilliant. Mia's chain was just long enough for her to reach both Kevin and Mike, but she couldn't get anywhere near Emily or Antonio. Antonio and Emily could reach each other, but they couldn't get close to Mike, Mia or Kevin. Therefore, the team was never completely united, and the distance between them was enough to keep them feeling helpless. If Dekker were to come back down and try to harm one half of the team, the other half could do nothing but watch.

Just as Kevin started to think of the mad man, Dekker returned to the cave. He dropped a couple of fish in the Rangers' reach and set down a canteen of water for the Rangers to share. He saw the green Ranger going for some of the food, as well as the blue Ranger, who was collecting enough for himself and the pink Ranger. Gold and Yellow didn't move.

Dekker picked up one fish for each of the two Rangers and dropped it at their feet. He saw the Gold Ranger reach for one but Yellow still didn't move. He knelt down beside Emily and held out her fish.

"Eat," he told her.

"I want to go home," Emily shook her head.

"I will take you to your sister in the morning," Dekker promised. "Please eat something."

Emily shook her head and leaned closer into Antonio, trying to hide. Dekker glared at the Gold Ranger.

"Make her eat."

"I've been trying," Antonio frowned. "She's scared. We're all scared. We all want to go home."

"I need this duel," Dekker shook his head. "I need you Rangers."

"You're going to lose," Antonio said. "Jayden's a better warrior than you'll ever be and he didn't have to train for centuries!"

"We'll see tomorrow," Dekker smirked.

"If Jayden can't kill you, I'm sure Serena's waiting," Mike said from his side of the prison. "If you value your life, even a little bit, you'll stop this and let us all go."

"I've been living for centuries," Dekker said. "There isn't much I have left to live for."

"There is Serena," Mia reminded Dekker. "I know you still care about her."

"It's too late for you Rangers to change your minds," Dekker growled. "I know what you think of me. I know there will never be anything between Serena and I as long as you have your say."

"It's not too late," Mia shook her head. "She'll be mad at you, Dekker, but you can turn it around! I know you can! You can start by convincing us all that you're not a bad person."

"I am!" Dekker roared, stomping over to Mia and Kevin. He ripped the pink Ranger away from the blue and threw her back into the wall. "You cannot change me! I have nothing to live for. This duel will happen, and someone will die!"

"Why would she be so hurt and angry if she didn't still care about you, Dekker?" Mia coughed. Kevin rushed to her side and held her in his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"You can change. You know you can you're just choosing not to."

"Mia, give up," Kevin whispered into her ear.

"No," Mia shook her head. "Serena still cares about you; I swear on my life there's still a part of her that knows you're better than this."

"You swear on your life?" Dekker asked. Mia nodded her head.

"I believe you can be saved. Show the others I'm right. Please, Dekker."

"I will not let you go," Dekker told Mia as he walked away from her and went back to Antonio and Emily. He picked up Emily's fish and tossed it over to Mike. He looked at the green Ranger and pointed to Emily.

"Can you convince her to eat?" he asked.

Mike nodded his head. He wasn't sure why Dekker was asking. He knew he could get her to listen to him, but only if she felt safe. With the chains keeping them apart, Emily would never feel safe.

Dekker sighed when he saw Mike nod and he turned to Emily. He knelt down in front of her and reached for her neck. Immediately all the Rangers jumped forward. Kevin, Mia and Mike were restricted by their chains, but Dekker had to fight Antonio off.

"Don't touch her!" Mike screamed while Antonio tried to attack.

Dekker knocked Antonio aside and pulled out Urumasa. He pointed the blade at the gold Ranger.

"Do not move," he growled. Antonio sat perfectly still in the dirt. When Dekker was sure he wouldn't be attacked again, he reached for Emily's neck and unfastened the chain.

"Let her go," Kevin hissed when Dekker grabbed Emily. The yellow Ranger tried to fight him off but she was too weak. Dekker picked her up in his arms and walked over to Mike. He set her down in the green Ranger's arms gently and then walked away. Emily threw her arms around Mike's neck as he held her tight.

Dekker took a seat on the far side of the cave and watched the Rangers until he fell asleep.


	188. The Beginning Of The End

Jayden and Serena were on the beach, figuring that was what Dekker meant when he said he would meet them by the sea. Jayden sat in the sand, playing with his Samuraizer while Serena paced nervously and checked the time over and over again on her phone.

"It's been twenty-four hours," she said. "Where is he? Where are they? Jayden…"

"Calm down," Jayden told her. He was just as worried as she was but he wouldn't let it show. Someone needed to stay calm. "He's got five Rangers with him who probably aren't listening to a word he says. He'll get them here, but it'll take a while."

"What if he hurts them?" Serena asked. "What if he…"

"Jay! Serena!"

The red Ranger and former yellow turned when they heard a familiar voice. Jayden's face lit up like a child's on Christmas morning when he saw Antonio running towards them both. He stood up to greet his friend in a hug.

"You're okay!" he smiled.

Antonio nodded as he gave Serena a quick hug. "I'm fine. My head's a little sore and my neck's stiff, but I'm okay."

"Did he hurt you?" Jayden asked, looking over the gold Ranger for any signs of injury. There was a red mark around his neck and a bump on his head, but aside from that he seemed fine.

"I'm okay," Antonio chuckled. He knew Jayden was just worried, and rightfully so. Dekker hadn't harmed him or the others, but they had been scared for their lives.

"What about the others?" Serena asked Antonio. "Mia, Mike, Kevin, my sister. Did he…"

"They're fine too," Antonio promised. "They'll be better soon, though… but I have to talk to you…"

"I'll kill him…"

"No, it's nothing like that," Antonio assured Serena before turning to Jayden. "Dekker thought, out of everyone, you would listen to me."

"What does he want to say?" Jayden asked, realising Antonio had only been freed so he could be a messenger. Antonio looked down at the sand, kicking it up slightly.

"He wants insurance," he said. "He thinks we'll all interfere in the duel, like what happened last time. He doesn't want that and wants to make sure it won't happen again."

"Too bad," Serena shook her head. "He knew I would get involved if he touched any of you."

"He says he can't stop you from fighting, but… it's more for me and the others. We're not in top form, but most of us can still fight. Dekker wanted me to tell you and Jayden to stop us from interfering. He won't hesitate to kill us if we get in his way."

"He won't touch you," Jayden promised Antonio. "None of you are getting involved in this fight. Dekker will let the others go and you'll go home."

"Jay!" Antonio argued, "We're not going to let him…"

"What's the point of keeping me safe if you're all going to die?" Jayden said, shaking his head. "We still have Master Xandred to think about, and I can't be a one-man team. At least, if it's just me, you'll all be able to hold off Xandred."

"But…"

"Don't argue with me," Jayden snapped. "I'm the leader so I call the shots. None of you are to interfere in this duel, no matter who is winning. Do I make myself clear?"

Antonio nodded, "Yes."

"Tell Dekker to show himself," Jayden ordered. "I want to see him and the Rangers."

"Please don't lose, Jay," Antonio said as he hurried off down the beach, disappearing behind a sand bank. Jayden took a deep breath and turned to Serena. "You should take them home."

"No way," Serena shook her head. "I don't want anyone to die, you know that, Jayden. Dekker can't and won't stop me from interfering."

"For all we know he could have turned on you," Jayden said. "It's too…"

"You fight. I fight," Serena stated. "I'll keep the Rangers from interfering, but I will jump in if either of you needs my help."

"If you can't change him… he'll kill Emily."

"If I can't change him, I'll kill him myself," Serena growled. She and Jayden looked down the beach and saw Dekker walking though the sand with the Rangers by his side, though there were only four bodies accompanying him. Serena's muscles all tensed up when she saw her baby sister was on Dekker's back instead of with Mia or Mike.

The four walking Rangers hurried over to Serena and Jayden and were swallowed into a group hug by Jayden. Serena marched over to Dekker.

"Let her go."

"She has eaten," Dekker said as he slowly lowered Emily off his back and passed her over to Serena. "I did as I promised. I took care of her."

Serena glared angrily at Dekker and let him walk by her as she swallowed Emily in a hug.

"I was so scared," she whispered to her sister. Emily clung onto Serena tightly.

"I want to go home."

"I'll take you home, Emy, I promise," Serena answered. "You'll sleep in your own bed tonight, you'll eat real food. I'll take care of you. You'll be fine."

When the big group reunion was over, Kevin couldn't help but look at Jayden, ready to argue his leader's decision.

"You can't do this alone, Jayden," he said. "Dekker's a monster! He'll kill you!"

"I have to do this," Jayden shook his head. "He's crossed the line. Actually, he's so far beyond it I know I don't have a choice. It's him or me, that's the only way he'll ever stop."

"If you don't kill him he'll just look for another duel," Mike said. "We need to work together, no matter what he says. It's our duty…"

"It's your duty to protect the innocent from Master Xandred!" Jayden roared. "None of you should have ever been put in this much danger. You were to come train, help me stop Xandred and then go home. This is too much!"

"Jay, it's our duty to save the world. If Dekker's a danger we want to stop him."

"You can watch the duel," Jayden said, pushing his way past the Rangers, "but Dekker won't hesitate to kill you if you interfere, and I will do all I can to keep you guys from interfering."

"You won't hurt us, will you, Jay?" Antonio asked. Jayden lowered his head.

"I'd rather hurt you myself then let him get him hands on any of you," he said before approaching Dekker. He looked up at the mad man, eyes filled with fury. "You got what you wanted," he growled, "I'm pissed and ready to fight to the death. We'll see who's a stronger opponent, before the day is done."

"That wasn't so hard now, was it?" Dekker taunted, transforming into a Nighlok. Jayden glared at his enemy before casting a glance over Dekker's shoulder. He saw Serena sitting in the sand holding a seemingly unharmed Emily. While the rest of the Rangers had a few bumps and bruises, Emily seemed completely untouched. Very exhausted and worn down, but untouched.

"You care about her a lot," Jayden said. "So much so you refuse to hurt her sister because you know it'll hurt her."

"My relationship with Serena does not concern you."

"I'm giving you one chance, Dekker," Jayden pulled out his Samuraizer and morphed. He held his Spin Sword out at the ready. "If you stand down now, for Serena, you'll be giving yourself a chance at redemption."

"The man in love with Serena would never harm her friends," Dekker nodded, lowering Urumasa slightly just as it started to glow a bright red. Suddenly, the half-Nighlok shook his head. "Unfortunately, Urumasa's hunger controls me. We have waited centuries for such a duel and it is finally within our grasp.

"Your choice," Jayden nodded and both warriors delivered their first blow.


	189. Duel Of The Century Part I

"Kick his ass, Jayden!" Mike shouted from the sidelines as he watched Jayden and Dekker fight for their lives. He was starting to come around to the idea that maybe there was still a little humanity left in Dekker that could be saved, but he still wanted to see the man pay for all the pain and suffering he had caused.

"I can't just sit here," Antonio dug his hands into the sand. His eyes were fixed on the duel and his heart was full of worry for his friend. He didn't want Jayden to get hurt, though it seemed very unlikely that the red Ranger would come out of this match unharmed, even if he did win.

"Duck!" Kevin screamed, throwing himself over Mia and shielding his head as another symbol attack from Jayden sent glass flying everywhere. When the glass settled he looked up at Mike and Antonio, "Are you guys okay?"

"Jayden's got to stop doing that," Mike nodded his head. "He's sending more glass our way than Dekker's."

"As long as he wins he can send anything my way," Antonio muttered. He was itching to join the fight and defend his best friend, but he knew that would only lead to more trouble. Jayden had made his orders clear. No one was to interfere. Antonio could only hope that Jayden wouldn't regret his decision.

He clenched his fists together and a smile appeared on his lips when it seemed Jayden had the upper hand. He knocked Dekker off his feet and tried to stab his Spin Sword into Dekker's chest, but the mad warrior rolled away just in time and jumped back up. Urumasa was still in his hands, ready to deliver the final blow.

"C'mon Jay!" Antonio cried, feeling like a soccer-parent encouraging the team to victory in a difficult game without interfering. He was sure the parents of young soccer players never had to worry about any of the players dying on the field, though, "Keep it up! You're better than him!"

Dekker and Jayden locked swords and Dekker smirked, leaning forward slightly.

"Seems you have a few cheerleaders rooting for you."

"I'm lucky," Jayden nodded, "I have a team that supports me. You'll never know what that's like."

Dekker roared savagely and broke the lock. He swung at Jayden, slicing him across the stomach and sending him staggering backwards. He heard the Rangers cry out in fear for their leader and it made him smile.

"When will they stop?" Mia asked Kevin as they sat up together in the sand, his arms wrapped around her. "There's no point to this duel. Dekker's going to lose everything if he wins, and for what? Another lifetime of searching for the ultimate duel?"

"He's insane, Mia," Kevin said. "Stop worrying about this."

"It's stupid and you know it," Mia snapped and Kevin looked hurt that she would get angry with him, especially right now. Her expression softened and she kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry… I just don't get why he's throwing everything away for a stupid sword."

"His relationship with Serena was twisted right from the start," Kevin shrugged his shoulders. "No one would ever fully understand it… but I guess…"

"What…"

"I would probably be that pissed off too," Kevin said. "If all of your friends tried to keep me away from you, and then you started to listen to them, I would want to kick someone's ass too. Urumasa may be calling the shots, but Dekker's too hurt to not listen. And he's got a good excuse too. He's part-Nighlok."

"But evil through and through," Mike added. He couldn't help but overhear Mia and Kevin's conversation and couldn't stop himself from adding his two cents. "If I had my way, he would stay away from Serena."

"Either way," Kevin looked down at Mia, "no matter what his excuse was, he can't deny his human existence and the freedom that comes with it. That's the part of him that made the choice to follow his Nighlok cravings and to listen to his sword."

"He took care of her, though," Mia glanced over at Serena and Emily. "We can't give up."

"We can't save him," Kevin raised his voice. Mia wasn't getting it and he was scared that she would get hurt if she tried to interfere.

"I know," Mia nodded while pushing Kevin's arms away from around her waist. She got up and gave him one last look. "Just let me try this one last thing. Please."

"You'll get hurt," Kevin shook his head. He tried to stand up but Mia pushed him back into the sand.

"I'll be fine. I'm not going to Dekker."

"Stay safe, then," Kevin sighed. There was no stopping Mia once she got an idea in her head. He knew he was better off letting her go than drawing attention to her and her crazy schemes. At least Dekker was too distracted to notice Mia was moving around.

"The Nighlok are doomed, in my eyes," Mike murmured when he saw Mia leaving Kevin. "She's got guts for trying to save the ones with human souls, but anyone who would turn themselves into Nighlok intentionally is bad news."

"Says the man who nearly gave himself over," Kevin reminded Mike. The green Ranger nodded his head before Kevin's words sunk in. He turned to Blue and frowned.

"That was different! Emily was dying and I had to save her."

"Either way, last time I didn't listen to Mia I almost lost her," Kevin said. "She's onto something… I'm just scared it's not something good."

"JAYDEN!" Antonio's scream suddenly ripped through the air as he threw himself forward onto his hands and knees and watched as Jayden's suit failed him and the red Ranger sunk to his knees, dropping his sword.


	190. Duel Of The Century Part II

"Give it up, boy!" Dekker cried, kicking Jayden in the chest and pushing him into the sand, "It's over."

Jayden reached his arm out painfully as he tried to grab his Spin Sword. He would never give up, especially with his friends still in so much danger. There was no telling what Dekker would choose to do if he won. His friends' safety depended entirely on him.

His sword was just close enough for him to reach and he swung at Dekker, knocking Urumasa aside just before it was about to kill him. While Dekker went after his sword, Jayden pushed himself back to his feet and pulled out his Samuraizer.

"Go… Go… Samurai…" he called between breathes as he morphed. His suit was no longer as powerful as it had been before, but it was still the best form of protection he could get. As long as he was morphed he was safe.

Mia raced around the battlefield and dropped down beside Serena and Emily. She checked up on the scared Emily quickly before looking at Serena.

"You have to stop this," she said.

"I want to," Serena nodded, "but… I can't…"

"Dekker still loves you," Mia told the older Samurai. "He didn't kill me because he knew it would upset you and he took care of Emily because she means a lot to you. There's still a part of him that wants you! Please tell me you feel the same way."

"I can't watch him die," Serena said. "I already told Jayden I…" Serena looked down at her sister and squeezed her, "but he put you all in danger. That's the last thing I want. No one's worth that."

"You didn't fall in love with the Nighlok, Serena," Mia took Serena's hand. "You fell in love with a man you trusted; someone who protected you. That Dekker still exists, I know he does. I've seen him."

"It doesn't look like he exists, though," Serena pointed to the battle field. "That thing… that Nighlok. He killed an innocent man! He's was about to kill you!"

"He's killed before," Mia shrugged. "You know that."

"Yeah, but…"

"He'll listen to you! Give him a chance! Please!" Mia cried. She grabbed Serena's shoulders and started shaking the older girl. "You have to be better than him! You have to be his role model. If you give up on him he'll give up on himself."

"But…"

"When Dayu kidnapped you he came to us for help," Mia said. Serena was going to take a lot of convincing and Mia wasn't going to give up. "He put his pride aside for you. He risked everything for you! He even saved me and Emily. Dayu was about to kill us and he stopped her. Why would he do that if he was a hopeless cause?"

"I don't…"

"We didn't believe him," Mia continued. "We didn't trust him. He wanted to be by your side while you recovered but we didn't let him. He got angry! He lost control and he killed that man! He thought he lost you and he lost the will to be human. He did it again when you told him to leave!"

"I…"

Suddenly, the three girls heard the boys screaming their names just before they felt a weight falling on top of them and their surroundings heating up. For a few brief seconds the three of them felt like they were baking inside an oven. When the heat died down, the weight was removed and they looked up to find Dekker.

"Are you okay?" he asked the three of them while looking at Serena. Once they all nodded and he was sure they were okay, he spun around to face Jayden, "You nearly killed her!"

"Get away from them!" Jayden screamed, charging at Dekker with his sword and moving the warrior away from the girls. Once the swords were no longer being swung right over their heads, Mia looked up at Serena.

"He can still be saved."

Serena nodded her head and trembled, "But I don't know what to do."

"Do you love him?" Mia smiled when Serena nodded again, "Then whatever comes naturally. Just make sure you're not too late. He's counting on you."

Serena squeezed her tired and scared little sister comfortingly and kissed Emily on the top of the head.

"I'll fix everything," she promised. "Don't be scared."

In their duel, Jayden felt himself stealing the upper hand once again as his determination to protect his friends kept him going even though his body wanted so badly to give up and give in. Dekker was also getting tired, and the few blows he had taken were starting to really wear him down. His concern for Serena was also keeping him from doing his best in the duel. Every time he hurt Jayden he could see her face twist into a look of hurt and disappointment. He had never planned on hurting her, and even now he didn't want to, but he still found himself locked in a fierce battle with the red Ranger, fighting for the title of the best warrior. Urumasa would not let him give up until he was defeated in a duel so he knew he had to fight.

He glanced over at Serena for a moment, letting himself be distracted and giving Jayden the opportunity to take him out. He screamed in pain as Jayden's sword sliced across his chest, reverting him back to his human form and sending him to his knees. Jayden roared savagely as he slammed the butt of his sword into the side of Dekker's head, knocking him down into the sand. He knew the monster was down for the count, but he had to make sure he was down for good.

He lifted his sword over his head, ready for his victory. As he was about to plunge it through Dekker's chest he saw someone throw themself over Dekker's body and heard her scream for him to stop.

Jayden wasn't sure how he managed to stop in time. Part of him wanted to believe that he stopped because he wasn't a murderer, no matter how much his enemy deserved it. Another part of him thought maybe he had stopped because he knew Serena would interfere and he didn't want to hurt her. Either way, his sword stopped only a few millimeters from her back and Jayden stared down in horror, ashamed at what he had been about to do.


	191. What Love Can Do

As soon as Dekker realised Serena had thrown herself in harm's way he grabbed her and rolled over so he was laying on top of her. He stared down at her, trying to contain his rage.

"You could have gotten yourself killed!" he screamed at her. The tears welled up in her eyes and she threw her arms around his neck, relieved to see she had managed to save him.

"You're better than this, Dekker," she whispered into his ear as she held him tightly. Dekker wrapped his arms around her as well and sat up. "I know who you really are. Please, let us help you."

"I cannot," Dekker lowered his head. "Urumasa…"

"Screw that stupid sword!" Serene screamed. She ripped it from his hand and got to her feet. She walked up to the water and tossed it into the sea. She heard her group of friends and Dekker all gasp loudly but she didn't care. The sword could not control the man if he didn't let it. It was like an addiction; an addiction she wanted to see stop. She turned back to Dekker and Jayden.

"No one wins," she shouted. "No one is going to come out of this with anything more than a loss. You'll both lose what little humanity you have left. Nothing is worth that."

Returning to Dekker, Serena fell to her knees in front of him. She took his hands in hers and looked him in the eye, "Please Dekker. Please listen to me! I can help you! I know I can. You can't give up on yourself."

"But…"

"No!" Serena shouted and she shook her head. "Make your choice now! Right now! Are you human, Dekker? Or are you a Nighlok?"

"I…"

"Do you love me or not?" Serena screamed. Dekker let go of her hands and wrapped his arms around her as her tears started to fall. He couldn't stand to see her cry. It upset him far too much to see her hurting.

"I do, Serena," he told her as a sob escaped his lips. "I love you."

They sat for a moment and held each other in complete silence while the Rangers watched and waited to see how things were going to turn out. Finally, Serena pushed herself away from Dekker.

"Do what you have to do," she told him as she got to her feet. "Figure yourself out first. That's the most important thing. Urumasa and your Nighlok life can't control you anymore. You're not going to let them. When you feel human again; when you're sure this is what's right for you, come and find me."

"Serena…" Dekker stood and reached out for Serena but she backed away.

"I want to love you… but you're still a mess. I'll help you. We'll all help you when you're ready. But… this time… I can't help you take the next step. You still have a choice to make, and it has to be for yourself."

Then, surprising everyone, Serena pulled Dekker in for a kiss. It was so much more than a quick peck on the lips and lasted long enough for the Rangers to all turn away awkwardly.

When the kiss finally broke Serena looked up at Dekker, "A little motivation never hurt. Come find me… if that's still what you want when you made your choice."

Dekker nodded his head and gave Serena a final loving squeeze before he turned to Jayden.

"I'm sorry," he lowered his head, "for all the trouble I have caused. You are twice the warrior I am and you are fortunate enough to have a family that believes in you. I'm sad to say it took me this long to figure out that you were right. Everyone has a choice. I made the wrong one."

"We all make mistakes," Jayden nodded. He was leaning against his Spin Sword with one hand, but he held out the other for Dekker to shake. "For what it's worth, I hope our duel was still satisfying."

"It was," Dekker smiled. "You truly were a worthy opponent. I hope, one day, we will cross paths again."

"I'm always up for a friendly fight," Jayden smirked as Dekker finally accepted his hand. He pulled the older man in closer and whispered, "Don't keep her waiting too long, though. She is still my family and if you make the wrong choice I will be coming after you."

"With your team, I hope," Dekker nodded. He turned back to Serena and looked her in the eyes. "I will find you."

"I'll be waiting," she smiled and gestured down the beach, "The sun is about to set. A walk on the beach alone is a great way to sort through all your problems."

Dekker looked down the sandy path, "Goodbye, Serena."

Serena and Dekker stared lovingly into each other's eyes for another brief moment before parting ways. Meanwhile, Emily watched from the sidelines, her stomach turning. She grabbed Mia's arm tightly, getting the pink Ranger's attention.

"I think I'm going to be…"

Mia jumped back in shock when Emily's breakfast made its way from her stomach into the sand. Once the surprise faded, Mia pulled Emily's hair behind her shoulders and rubbed her back.

"We should probably head home," she told Serena and the boys as they walked over. Jayden was being helped by both Kevin and Antonio. Now that the fight was over and the adrenaline was no longer pumping through his veins, he was starting to feel really weak and tired.

"We'll get you some real food and something to drink, huh, Em?" Mike chuckled softly as he lifted his girlfriend into his arms. "Promise you'll drink something when we get home?"

Emily nodded and nestled into Mike's arms while Serena reached over and stroked her hair. Finally feeling safe again, she fell right to sleep.

Mia stood up and walked beside Kevin, who intended on helping Jayden get all the way home and into bed.

Kevin glanced over at her, "Are you okay?" he asked her. "For a minute I thought girlfriend pie was on the menu."

"Sorry about that," Jayden added quickly. "I didn't see you guys there."

"We're fine, thanks to Dekker," Mia smiled.

"Remind me to never doubt you again," Kevin chuckled. "He really was saveable, huh?"

"I believe love conquers all," Mia nodded. "Dekker was no exception."

"So, is your little Nighlok project done, now?" Antonio asked. "No more books in the common room? No more silent treatment?"

"I still want to figure out Dayu," Mia said. Kevin stopped dead in his tracks, forcing Antonio and Jayden to stop as well. Mia took a few steps before realising they had stopped and she turned around with a big grin on her face. "Don't worry, Kevin. I'll let things settle for a little bit before I stir the pot again."

"Good," Kevin said and leaned forward to kiss his girlfriend. Jayden and Antonio both pretended to start gagging.

"Get a room!" Antonio cried. "We all get it! You're in love! Just get married and have kids before we're all throwing up!"

Mia slapped Antonio on the back of the head and Kevin decided not to help his two friends home anymore. He slipped out from under Jayden's arm, putting all the red Ranger's weight onto Antonio before taking Mia's hand. He kissed her again in front of Jayden and Antonio just to spite them before racing home.

Mike and Serena saw the couple running ahead of them and stopped for a moment. Antonio and Jayden caught up to them and Antonio laughed.

"Aw, young love," he said. He turned to his friends, "Where's the barf bucket?"

"One Ranger throwing up is enough, thank you," Serena frowned. She looked down at her sleeping sister, "I knew she wouldn't be over the moon for me, but that's not the reaction I was expecting."

"She scared herself sick," Mike explained. "I think after a little rest and some time to relax and have fun she'll be back to her old self."

"We'll all be feeling better once we get home," Jayden nodded with a smile.


	192. A Special Homecoming

After losing Mia once, Kevin wasn't ever going to let her out of his sight again. She was his entire world and he couldn't live without her. The only good thing her kidnapping had done for him was make him realise just how big a part of his life Mia was and that he had to cherish every little moment, good or bad, with her. He needed to take full advantage of the time he had with her as well. Even if they just crossed paths in the hallway, being around her was special.

With the others far behind them and out of the house, they had a little time to themselves and they were going to take full advantage of it. The pink and blue couple kissed passionately, hardly finding the time or patience to break for air. Kevin lifted Mia into his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her into her bedroom.

He dropped her on the bed and was just about to get on top of her when he heard a familiar barking. Mia reached for one of her pillows, hoping to use it to slam the door shut before Scruffy raced in and interrupted them, but when she threw it she saw it hit Mentor in the face.

"Uh… Kevin…" she said, pushing her boyfriend off.

"I'm glad to see you're both okay," Mentor said as he picked up the pillow and tossed it back onto Mia's bed.

Kevin turned to Mentor, a look of annoyance in his eyes. He knew Mentor probably wouldn't approve of what he and Mia were about to do, but they were two adults, capable of making their own decisions and dealing with the consequences, should they ever arise.

"Do you mind?" he asked Mentor. "We're kind of in a moment."

"I… uh… okay…" Mentor stammered, reaching over to close the door. "I take it the others aren't coming home any time soon."

"Just keep them out," Kevin said. He gestured for Mentor to close the door. The older man did as he was told and gave the couple the privacy they needed.

When Mentor was gone Kevin looked down at Mia lovingly, "Are you sure…?"

"If I wasn't would we be here?" Mia smirked. She pulled Kevin in for another kiss and pulled his shirt over his head.

"Marry me," Kevin whispered between kisses. Mia suddenly stopped and placed her hands on his chest.

"What?"

"I love you, Mia and after everything we've been through I know I don't want to live a day without you. We'll make it official later, and your dream wedding can happen once we're done with the Nighlok for good. Please promise me forever."

"You're not just saying this in the heat of the moment, right?" Mia asked. She was excited that Kevin had asked her to marry him and she had, from time to time, thought about the day he would propose to her, but she wanted to make sure he wasn't just saying this because it felt right in the moment. She wanted it to be real.

"Consider my medal a temporary engagement ring. Me giving myself to you and only you."

"Yes," Mia smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically. Kevin smiled brightly and pulled his now fiancée into another passionate kiss. This would be a day he remembered forever.

-Samurai-

Mentor didn't know what to tell the Rangers when they got home and asked him for a little piece and quiet so they could rest. They all look exhausted and it seemed like Jayden had just come out of the fight of his life (because he had). They promised to explain everything to Mentor, in full detail, once they were all rested. But when Mentor saw Serena and Mike were headed to the girls' bedroom, with a still sleeping Emily in Mike's arms, Mentor knew he had to stop them somehow. Kevin and Mia needed their privacy and he was sure the last thing any of them wanted to walk in on was them having sex.

"Uh… Mike," Mentor called the boy's name before he got too far, "After everything that's happened, I'm sure you would want some time with Emily."

"Um…" Mike felt trapped. Mentor was offering him some alone time with his girlfriend, something completely out of character for Mentor. He didn't want to pass up the once in a lifetime opportunity, but it wasn't like he could say yes. Emily's older, stronger, and very protective sister was standing right beside him.

"I trust you," Mentor added, making Mike's eyebrows rise. Now there was really something suspicious going on.

"This is a test, isn't it?" Mike asked. "You think because we all nearly died we're going to… you know…"

"No, Michael. I thought you would appreciate…"

"What's really going on?" Mike interrupted. "You don't trust me… not that much. I still see you looking uncomfortable anytime Emily and I are together."

"She obviously feels safe with you and in recent days safety is not a need that has been met."

"As long as I don't wake up an Aunt, you can spend as much time as you want with my sister," Serena gave Mike a pat on the shoulder. "I'm too tired to really care if you sleep _next_ to her or not. I'm going to…"

"Uh, no," Mentor called, stopping Serena before she could go to the bedroom, "I'm sure you would love some time with your sister as well. Kevin is not in his room, so you three can have some privacy."

"Um, Mentor, the last thing I want is to have some privacy with my sister and her boyfriend. I'm more than happy waiting a couple of hours…"

"Why isn't Kevin in his room?" Mike asked. "I figured he and Mia would be… OW! Serena! What the hell?" Mike cried when he felt Serena grabbing his arm tightly and digging her nails into his skin.

"Oh my god…" Serena's eyes were wide as she looked right at Mentor. He sighed and nodded his head.

"It is to be expected."

"What?" Mike frowned, glancing back and forth between Mentor and Serena. "What's going on?"

"C'mon, Mike," Serena suddenly started pushing the green Ranger to his own room, "How about we get some rest. Maybe you and I can get to know each other better. I'm sure Emily would appreciate that."

"What do you mean?" Mike asked.

"The one time your mind doesn't go into the gutter. Seriously, Mike, I didn't think you would be this thick!"

"Hey! What am I miss… oh…"

"Yeah," Serena nodded, pushing him into his room.

"Ew!" Mike stuck out his tongue and shook his head, trying to get the image out of his mind. "No… they can't be…"

"We don't know anything," Serena told him. "It's not happening and you're definitely not getting any ideas."


	193. The Night Off

While the occupants in the Shiba House were using their down time to rest or spend their night with the person they loved, Mentor Ji was tending to Jayden. The red Ranger had never been one to relax for too long and was up and about before all the other Rangers.

Mentor was cleaning Jayden's wounds and patching up his son. He still couldn't believe Jayden had actually taken part in the duel with Dekker, and he was even more surprised that Jayden had come out alive. He never doubted the red Ranger's skills, but he had been so worried when Jayden and Serena took off to challenge Dekker that he had let himself assume the worst. He was so relieved to see Jayden alive that he didn't need to know what happened.

"There," he said as he finished up with the gauze. Jayden nodded and put his shirt back on, covering up the bandages and the scars. His team knew he had taken a few hard blows and that he had earned himself a couple of nice battle scars, but he still wanted to hide it from them. He made sure the shirt covered up his torso and all the way up to his neck, and then he slipped on a sweater to cover his arms.

"Thanks, Ji."

"You should be proud of those scars," Mentor smiled. "You were able to protect your team and keep them out of harm's way."

"Kidnapped by an angry Dekker is harmful," Jayden shook his head. "I still can't believe I put them in so much danger."

"The duel with Dekker was not your choice," Mentor said. He placed his hand on Jayden's shoulder. "If it helps…"

"Maybe they should know the truth," Jayden muttered. "Thankfully they did as they were told, but what if next time they don't listen? What if they really get hurt trying to protect me? It's not worth it."

"Jayden, you are part of a family," Mentor reassured the red Ranger. "Just as you would risk your life for them, they would do it for you."

"But they're doing it for the wrong reasons."

"They love you, Jayden. When it's time to tell them the truth we will break it to them gently. Until then things must remain the same. For the good of the team and the entire world, we must act like we have nothing to hide."

"Easier said than done," Jayden sighed. He looked up at Mentor, "How are the others doing? I didn't get a chance to ask them."

"They're fine," Mentor nodded. "They are stronger than you think, Jayden."

"They'll have to be," the red Ranger got off the stool and looked out the window at the training yard. He didn't feel like doing much. He was still sore from his battle with Dekker and he figured the Rangers were going to need more time to relax and unwind. He smiled at Mentor.

"When everyone's awake tell them to meet me at the amusement park," he said. "They all deserve some time off."

-Samurai-

When Mia woke up she found herself wrapped in Kevin's arms. She looked up to see his sleeping face and she couldn't believe her luck. She never thought she would find the man she married on her Ranger team. When she thought about it, she never really thought she would make such great friends with her teammates. She knew her grandmother still talked every once in a while with the Rangers from her generation, and her mother, from time to time, would call up her teammates for a quick chat, but calls and meetings were usually very few and very far between. Mia thought it would be the same for her. In the end, they were all here to fulfill a responsibility forced upon them at birth.

For the very first time she was truly happy about her Samurai life. She tilted her head up and planted a kiss on Kevin's lips, waking him up.

"I could get used to this," he said, pulling her in closer before opening his mouth wide for a yawn he couldn't stop. Mia giggled as she watched.

"Good evening, sleepy head."

Kevin frowned and rolled over in bed to check the time. That's when he noticed there was no clock by Mia's bed. He looked outside and saw the sun was low in the sky.

"Wow, we slept all afternoon?"

"Not all afternoon," Mia chuckled, "but we did if the others ask."

"Think they know anything?" Kevin asked. "Serena and Emily share this room too. What if…"

"I'm sure Mentor Ji took care of it," Mia said. "Besides, they aren't here now. Maybe they all crashed on the couch or something."

"Hopefully," Kevin kissed Mia again before getting out of her bed and grabbing his clothes. He put them back on and turned to Mia when they were both ready, "do we have to go out there?"

"C'mon," Mia giggled, "I'd rather stay in here too, but I do want to check up on the others. Jayden could barely walk and Emily did vomit."

"Mood killed. Thank you very much."

"Not a vomit person?" Mia asked.

"Name one person who is."

"I meant… never mind," Mia took his hand and the two of them walked slowly until they saw their friends, minus Jayden, in the common room.

Upon seeing Mia and Kevin, Serena and Mike began to blush and they couldn't look the couple in the eye. Serena was trying to keep her mouth shut for the couple's sake. Not everything about a relationship needed to be made public and this was one step that was best left private.

Mike was a little torn between his role as little brother, which meant he had to make things awkward for the couple now that he knew what they had done, and his embarrassment at having figured out how they decided to spend their homecoming. It was a little weird knowing his two friends had taken that step, but as long as they were happy, he was happy for them. He was just feeling a little awkward.

When Mia and Kevin did enter the room Emily bounced over to them, grabbing their hands. Mentor had made the mistake of telling her Jayden was waiting for all of them at the amusement park and she had been excited ever since. She had been bouncing in her seat, even when Mentor had checked her over to make sure she was well enough to leave the house. After hearing how she had scared herself sick, the last thing Mentor wanted was Emily eating cotton candy and popcorn.

But in her excitement she had forgotten all about being scared and Mentor figured that was the point of the evening. Jayden wanted his Rangers to feel safe and happy again. After all, they deserved it.

Antonio was excited as well. He had been to amusement parks before, but never with a big group of friends. It was usually just him and his dad. He was excited to ride the roller coasters and play against his friends in the games.

"Emily, slow down," Mia laughed as she and Kevin were pulled to the door and their jackets were thrown at them. Mia pulled her coat off her head and then reached to feel Emily's forehead, "How are you feeling?"

"Let's go!" Emily giggled, tugging Mia's arm.

"Go where?" Kevin asked as Mike, Antonio, Serena and Mentor joined them.

"Jayden is waiting for you at the amusement park," Mentor said with a big smile.

"We've all been waiting for you two. Emily's been hopping ever since she got up," Antonio laughed.

Mike nudged Kevin, unable to pass up the opportunity to tease his best friend.

"You must have really been tired, huh?" he smirked, "You and Mia were home first and you slept so much longer than the rest of us."

"Yeah, tired," Kevin nodded his head nervously before moving away from Mike. He didn't want the green Ranger making any more comments. He liked his privacy.

Serena handed Mike his jacket and slapped him over the head, "Not a word."

"What? You know you want to…"

"You know, Emily really likes you," Serena said, "It would be a shame if her older sister didn't think…"

"Okay, okay, I'll try to shut up," Mike muttered.

"Good little boyfriend," Serena teased, patting Mike's cheek. The green Ranger stuck out his tongue at his girlfriend's older sister before he noticed Emily was already out the door and ready to leave. He chased after her, not wanting her to get too far.

Serena chuckled and rolled her eyes as the other Rangers stepped out of the house behind Mike and Emily. Just as she was about to leave, though, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Mentor Ji with a serious look on his face.

"Are you kidding me," she frowned, "I've never been to an amusement park before! Why can't I go?"

"You will be going," Mentor said, nodding his head, "but if you are well enough to spend a night riding roller coasters then I assume you're well enough to return back to the Tengen Gate."

"Oh… yeah. You know, that's a bit of a boring job…"

"But someone has to do it," Mentor said. "I do hope to see you home permanently soon, but for now someone needs to protect the Gate from the Nighlok."

"I'm going to have to think about heading back then, huh? Can't keep those secrets and weapons unguarded for long."

"I will book your flight. For now, enjoy your night off with your sister and friends," Mentor reached into his kimono and pulled out a few bills. He handed them to Serena. "Buy everyone a little something, my treat."


	194. Fun and Games

"You rented it out!" Antonio's jaw was on the sticky ground in awe and Jayden nodded his head with a laugh. He placed his finger under Antonio's chin and closed his mouth before he swallowed a fly.

"I rented out a section of the park," he nodded his head and handed his friends special passes. "These will get you into the areas that are closed off. We don't have all the big rides, but we do have the Ferris wheel and the merry-go-round."

As he said this he turned to the two couples and smiled.

"I don't care what rides we have," Mike was now bouncing almost as much as Emily, "No line ups! We can ride anything as many times as we want! Jay, you're the best leader on the face of the planet!"

Emily was pulling on his arm and Serena's, "C'mon! There's so much to do!"

"Slow down, Emily," Serena laughed, "I'm sure we'll find a way to fit everything in."

"Make sure you make it back in time for fireworks!" Jayden called to the trio as they raced off. He chuckled to himself before turning back to the remaining three Rangers. "You'd think it'd be awkward for them: the boyfriend, the little sister and the big sister."

"They make it work," Kevin shrugged, "what I want to know is how on earth you managed to afford renting out even just a section of the park."

"When dad died he left me with everything he had," Jayden explained. "Mentor knew it belonged to me so he never touched any of it. I've never had a big need to spend any of the money dad left behind so it's just been sitting in a bank. And the fact that Mentor's made a few friends around town does help quite a bit."

"Wait, you spent you inheritance on us?" Antonio asked.

"You're worth it," Jayden nodded. "Besides, I'm here too, aren't I? This is for me as much as it is for you."

"I don't care where you got the money," Antonio smiled, "I just want to try the big roller coaster! Anyone want to come with me?"

"Do you have to ask?" Jayden smirked as he raced off with his best friend, leaving Kevin and Mia alone again. Kevin smiled and wrapped his arms around Mia's waist as he pulled her in for a kiss.

"So, what do you want to do first?" he asked. "We don't have to meet the others until it gets dark. That's not for another hour and a half."

Mia bit her lip thoughtfully and looked around the park for something she and Kevin could do together. She saw the bumper cars and couldn't resist the chance to knock her boyfriend around a little bit. It would be interesting to play with only the two of them in the arena.

When Kevin turned to see what she was staring at he shook his head, "No fair! I don't want to bump you."

"Then I'll win!" Mia giggled as she pulled away from her fiancé and made her way over to the bumper cars. Kevin sighed loudly and a smile graced his lips as he went after her. "Fine, but I get the blue car!"

-Samurai-

"Again!" Antonio cheered as the ride came to a stop. He knew he would get his wish thanks to Jayden buying out that section of the park, which meant there was no queue waiting for their turn.

Jayden, however, looked sick. The ride Antonio had chosen had loops, turns and very steep drops. Jayden thought his stomach could handle it, but it obviously wasn't as strong as Antonio's.

"Can't we take a break?" he muttered to his friend as the man running the ride performed a quick safety check. "The only thing keeping me from throwing up is the fact that I haven't eaten much."

"Didn't stop Emily," Antonio shrugged playfully. "All she had was one fish for dinner and one for breakfast. I bet that part of the beach still smells rotten."

"One more time," Jayden rolled his eyes, "then we'll do something calm."

"Deal," Antonio laughed. The man gave him and Jayden the signal that the ride was ready to start. Antonio held on to his safety restraints and cried out happily as the car started moving. Jayden grabbed his stomach.

When the ride ended, Jayden wobbled back onto solid ground, still holding his stomach. Antonio gave him a pat on the back.

"Fifteen times around and I'm still feeling fine," he bragged. Jayden glared at him.

"You're not human, are you?"

"I pride myself on a strong stomach," Antonio smirked. "But seeing as you're about to fall over how about we sit down and play a few games. Are you still the ring toss champ?"

"I have no idea," Jayden said. He glanced over to the games and saw an employee was waiting for something to do. The downside to having his corner of the park rented out was that there were no people to draw in.

"Let's find out," Antonio beamed. He raced over to the game and handed the man a couple of dollars. In return the man handed him ten rings. Antonio gave five of them to Jayden. The red Ranger looked at the rings and a small smirk appeared in the corner of his mouth. He turned to Antonio.

"Let's make this interesting," he said. Antonio looked at Jayden.

"Uh oh, I remember that face…"

"If I get the first ring on the bottle you have to clean all the bathrooms in the house for a month. That means Mike and Kevin's, and Emily and Mia's."

Antonio gulped, "And if, by some miracle, I get the first ring?"

"I'll clean all the bathrooms."

"I'm so screwed, aren't I?"

Jayden shrugged and signalled for Antonio to take the first shot. The ring bounced right off the bottles and hit the floor.

"Last chance to back out," Jayden teased. Antonio shook his head.

"No way am I backing out. If I lose, I'll lose with pride."

Jayden tossed his first ring. He had no idea if he was still good at ring toss or not. When he and Antonio were younger they had gone to a carnival once and Antonio's father had paid for a single round for the boys. Antonio hadn't made any of his shots, but Jayden had succeeded with every ring and he had won himself a giant stuffed tiger. Even back then, Mentor Ji wasn't too fond of toys in the Shiba House, so he had given it to Antonio to keep.

The ring landed on the bottle perfectly and Jayden cheered. Antonio rubbed his hand along his face.

"Ew, bathroom duty."

"And our bathroom is the cleanest," Jayden chuckled. "Just letting you know."

Antonio tossed another ring, missing hit shot once again. Jayden tossed his ring, again, landed around the bottle. They went back and forth until they ran out of rings and turned to the man. Surely with Jayden's perfect shots they had won something.

"Well, it takes seven for the big prizes," the man said, "but you are entitled to one of the medium toys."

"Pick one," Jayden told Antonio.

"No way. I still have that tiger from last time. I'm sure Mentor will let you keep this one."

Jayden smiled. He was happy to hear the tiger was still in Antonio's possession, even after moving out of the city. Jayden turned to the wall to look at his choices and pointed to the fish.

Antonio gave Jayden a playful look, "Really, I could have sworn you would have gone for another tiger or that freaky alien thing."

"The big tiger needs a friend," Jayden shrugged, taking the fish from the man. Antonio ripped it from his hands and held it to his face.

"Or you'll just make out with it," he laughed, "Should I tell this kind man the fish lips story."

Jayden shoved Antonio away from the ring toss booth, "No. I think you've told enough people already."

-Samurai-

The Ferris wheel was supposed to be romantic. Mike was supposed to tip the guy running the ride so that it would stop when he and Emily reached the very top. Mike should have been sitting with his arm wrapped tightly around his girlfriend as they looked at the view.

He wasn't supposed to be alone in his seat behind Emily and Serena. Unfortunately for him, Serena had pulled him aside while Emily played one of the games and told him that she would have to be leaving for Japan soon. Mike was starting to hate how his heart melted when Emily smiled, because he knew letting her have this time with her sister before Serena left would make her smile.

In the seat ahead, Serena was finding it a little hard to break the news to her sister. She didn't want to go back to the Tengen Gate, especially when she knew she would be by herself. In the back of her mind she had always known that she would be returning as soon as she was recovered, but with all the drama that had happened she just didn't have the time to think about leaving.

She decided to just come out and say it. Surely it wouldn't come as a big surprise to Emily.

"You know, I've only got a few more days before I have to head back, right?"

Emily turned to her sister and nodded her head, "I'm trying not to think about it."

"Mentor's booking the flight home. I'll probably be leaving very soon."

"What if Dayu comes for you again?" Emily asked. "Maybe you can convince Mentor to stay a little longer. Maybe I can go with you so…"

"You're needed here, Emy," Serena shook her head. "I can take care of myself. Besides, she'll probably leave me alone for a little while."

"Are you sure?"

"I think she was crushing on Dekker," Serena said. "I got the feeling she was jealous of how close I was with him. Now that he's gone for a little while, I should be fine."

"What about when he comes back?" Emily asked. "What'll happen then?"

"If he comes back I'm sure he'll look out for me," Serena smiled. She saw her little sister sticking her tongue out in disgust and shoved her gently. Emily grabbed onto her seat nervously, afraid she was going to fall.

"Don't do that!"

"I like Dekker," Serena told her. "I like him a lot, Emy. I know it's weird because… well, he's Dekker… but if he does change, you'll have to accept that."

"I know," Emily nodded. "If he makes you happy I guess it's okay… but when you say his name I think of the guy who scares and hurt me. It'll be a while before that changes."

Serena wrapped her arm around her little sister, "I know. I get it. Hopefully the next time you see me and Dekker together everything will be better."

"I don't want to think about that," Emily screwed her eyes shut and covered her ears. Serena laughed and grabbed her sister's hands.

"Whether it works between me and Dekker or not, you'll always be my baby sister. Nothing's going to change that. If Dekker makes you uncomfortable, even years from now, I won't force you to be friends with him, okay? Your safety and happiness comes first."

"Even if you get married to him?" Emily asked. Serena nodded.

"Have you seen marriages lately?" she laughed, "I could have two, three, maybe four husbands. But I'll only ever have one sister."

Serena offered her sister another smile before sitting up straight and grabbing the handle bar in front of her.

"Oh no!" she cried, trying to hide her smile as she teased her sister. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Emily asked nervously. She saw Serena looking down.

"I think… never mind…"

"No… what?"

"I just… I thought I hear something fall."

"What!" Emily cried and quickly looked down, forgetting for a moment that she had vowed not to when she got on the ride. After her trip in the airplane she learned she had a fear of heights. She was an Earth girl, through and through, and needed to feel the ground under her feet in order to feel safe.

Serena obviously wasn't the same way, and after hearing about the flight to and from Japan, she just had to poke fun at her little sister.

"I'm kidding," the older sister laughed, wrapping her arms around Emily. "Do you really think I would be able to hear something from this height?"

Emily crossed her arms over her chest, "Everyone's got to stop teasing me…"

"It's too fun," Serena giggled.


	195. Fireworks

"Oh my god…" Mia laughed and covered her mouth with her hand. Her eyes were so wide that Antonio, Jayden and Kevin all had to turn to see exactly what had her in awe. They had all gathered for fireworks and were just waiting for Mike, Serena and Emily to turn up.

"Do you see… holy shit," when Kevin spotted what Mia was pointing to he also had a shocked and humoured look on his face. As soon as Jayden and Antonio spotted it as well, they couldn't keep themselves from laughing.

Mike and Serena were the first to reach the group. Mike seemed happy while Serena had her arms crossed over her chest and she was grumbling something about never scaring her sister again. Right behind them was a big, yellow stuffed Ape but no obvious sign of Emily except for a pair of legs under the ape and arms that held the ape tightly but didn't quite make it around.

"You'll never believe what just happened," Mike laughed.

"Where were you guys when I was playing ring toss?" Antonio asked. He figured the only way they could have gotten the ape was by playing one of the games in the park. Obviously they had won.

Emily dropped the ape on the ground and poked her head over his massive one. She turned to her sister, "Mind explaining, Serena."

"Let this be a warning to you all," Serena muttered. "While it's fun to tease Emily, you will pay the price. Literally…"

"I got a big monkey!" Emily laughed, hugging her Ape's head.

"That's an Ape," Kevin corrected her with a chuckle as he shook his head. Emily glared at him.

"You know, Monkey's probably a little lonely. I'm sure he could use a friend or…"

"Monkey it is," Kevin nodded. He looked to Mike and Serena, "So, how exactly did this happen?"

"Amazing story," Mike started with a grin until Serena smacked him on the back of the head and turned to the group.

"I thought it would be funny to tease Emily on the Ferris wheel," she said. "I got her to believe a screw got loose. It was only a joke."

"Not a funny one," Emily pouted.

"We got off the ride and Emily refused to talk to Serena unless Serena won her a prize," Mike took over the story.

"I would have been happy with the little monkeys," Emily smiled. She pointed to Jayden's fish, "Like that!"

"And you ended up with King Kong how?" Jayden asked.

"Serena's good at that basketball game," Emily shrugged. "She won the little toy in her first try! It was too easy. I hadn't forgiven her yet."

"And because I love the sound of my sister's voice," Serena said through clenched teeth, "I just had to pay and play over and over again until suddenly the guy handed me that massive thing."

"She's forgiven," Emily laughed.

"Where are you going to put it?" Antonio asked as he took another look at the giant Ape. It technically wasn't taller than Emily, coming up only to her chin, but he was pretty sure that if the toy came alive in the middle of the night it could eat her whole and she would fit comfortably in its big, fat tummy.

"Mia's bed," Emily teased, looking to her other big sister. Mia rolled her eyes.

Suddenly the Rangers heard a loud explosion from the sky. Instinctively, all but Jayden adopted fighting stances. The red Ranger shook his head and laughed.

"I told you guys we were staying for fireworks," he said as he pointed to a patch of grass. He led his team over and was the first to lie down in the grass to watch the firework show. Antonio took a seat next to him and leaned back to look up at the sky.

Kevin and Mia relaxed when they saw it was only fireworks and laughed. They stuck with the group but sat a couple of feet away from Jayden and Antonio, wanting a little space to themselves.

Mike was about to sit in the grass with Jayden and Antonio when he felt Serena grabbing his shoulder and pulling him back upright. She smiled at him.

"Thanks for giving me time with my sister," she said. "It meant a lot to both of us."

"Don't worry about it," Mike shrugged it off like it was no big deal. He wanted to ride the Ferris wheel with his girlfriend, but he knew he would get another chance. It was very likely Serena and Emily wouldn't see each other for a very long time.

"Give me a little more time with her tomorrow and I'll let you watch the fireworks with her now."

"You don't have to," Mike shook his head, "I'm sure…"

"Mike, you're a sweetie," Serena laughed. She shoved the green Samurai towards her sister, "I promise I won't bug you."

"Thanks," Mike smiled before walking over and taking a seat next to Emily and her big monkey.

Serena sat down in the grass with Antonio and Jayden. The two boys looked at her quickly before admiring the sky as another round of fireworks went off.

"You're not really not going to spy, are you?" Antonio asked. "You're her big sister. We're not related to her and we all spy when we can just to make sure…"

"Mentor just reminded me I have to go back to Japan soon," Serena sighed. "I told Mike and he was nice enough to give Emily and I a little bit of space. I think he deserves this."

"He's a good guy," Jayden nodded. "A little rough around the edges, but once you get past that he's a really good friend."

"Yeah," Antonio smiled, "and… I mean, we spy on them, but not because we think he's going to hurt her… because he's not… but… you know… we just…"

"Hey, I'm all for spying," Serena held her hands up. "Please, continue to do it, especially when I'm gone."

"Sweet!" Antonio turned around instantly. Serena grabbed his head and spun it back.

"Just not right now," she laughed. She looked over at Jayden, "It was really nice of you to do this for us, Jay. I know we all needed it."

"A leader who can't take care of his team doesn't deserve to lead," Jayden said. "You've all been through a lot."

"Well, this definitely makes up for it," Serena said before remembering the cash in her pocket that Mentor gave her. She pulled it out and smiled, "Think everyone will want some ice-cream or something? Mentor's treat?"

"Seriously?" Antonio asked, "Mentor just handed you money?"

"I'm older, wiser and more responsible," Serena chuckled, waving the cash in Antonio's face.

"A couple of years, a few IQ points and nahuh!"

"Yahuh," Serena nodded her head, "Chocolate or vanilla?"

"Chocolate," Antonio answered. Serena turned to Jayden.

"Same options."

"Chocolate."

"Good," she got up and brushed the grass and dirt off her butt, "I know what Emily wants and the others will be happy with what they get."

-Samurai-

Hiding behind the big monkey, Emily and Mike were laying together in the grass. Emily was cuddling up against Mike's side with her head resting gently on his chest as she looked up and admired the fireworks. Mike tried to look up at the sky. He had to admit, the show was beautiful, but there was something more beautiful in his arms.

He leaned forward and kissed the side of her head, "I take it you're feeling better."

"Much," Emily nodded, never taking her eyes off the sky.

"You really had me worried," Mike told her. "I thought you were going to die of thirst or starve to death or something…"

"I wanted to," Emily admitted, glancing up at him. "I was so scared and it felt like the only way out. Dekker was going to kill me anyways; I figured I had nothing to lose."

"He wasn't going to hurt you," Mike squeezed her softly. "I wouldn't have let him. No one would have let him."

"I guess. But I just couldn't think that way when it was happening, you know? And I couldn't go to you or even Mia and you couldn't reach me. I knew if he tried something…"

"Antonio told me you weren't drinking after Dekker took me."

Emily shook her head, "Same reason. I thought I was going to die anyways. There was no point trying to stay alive."

"That chain wouldn't have held me back, Emily," Mike told her.

"But it did."

"It was about to break, I know it was," Mike smiled. He hugged her, "I'm just glad you're okay."

"You went missing first," Emily said, "I'm glad you're okay. You really scared me. I thought he killed you."

"He didn't," Mike shook his head. "I was a little roughed up, but aside from that he just dumped me with Mia and left. I spent all my time down there worrying about you."

"Do you want to hear something nice," Emily asked, suddenly sitting up. She looked down at Mike with a big smile. He nodded.

"Who doesn't?"

"You made me not scared," Emily said. "Remember when Dekker unlocked my collar and you guys all thought he was going to hurt me?"

"Of course I remember," Mike nodded. "One of the scariest moments of my life."

"When he lifted me up and gave me to you I stopped being scared. I was still worried, but I wasn't scared. That's why I ate that fish then. Because I knew there was a chance we would all live."

Mike sat up with a big smile and wrapped his arms around Emily's waist as he pulled her in closer and kissed her.

Emily wrapped her arms around Mike's neck, holding him close when the kissing stopped. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"You give me hope, Michael. Without you… I… I get scared. Don't you ever, never ever, get taken away like that again, okay? I can handle it being me when I know you're looking for me, but if you leave…"

"I won't ever leave," Mike shook his head and kissed her cheek. He held her in his arms until Serena came over with ice-cream.


	196. Big Announcement

The trip to the amusement park was over and the Rangers were all ready for bed. They were barely able to mutter good nights to their friends as they went to their rooms. Emily was dragging her big ape across the floor by the arm as she, Mia and Serena made their way to their room. Getting the big ape home had been quite a challenge, especially when they had to find a place for him on the bus, but Emily wanted him home and therefore she got her wish, no matter the cost.

She let go of the ape's arm when she got near her bed and fell forward, landing face first in the mattress. Serena and Mia both laughed when they saw her drop.

"Tired, Emy?" Mia asked. She handed Serena a pair of pyjamas to borrow. Serena didn't have any of her stuff at the Shiba House and Mia was closer in size to the older girl than Emily, meaning her clothes fit Serena better.

"Very tired," Emily nodded her head before crawling across the bed. It looked like challenge the way she was doing it, almost as if she was climbing a rock wall. Finally she made it to her pillow and sighed happily, "Yay, my bed."

Serena tossed Emily her pyjamas, "Get changed. You'll be more comfortable."

The clothes landed on the back of Emily's head and she groaned, sitting up. Just as she was about to remove her shirt she noticed Mia's bed. It was messy. It was never messy. Mia always made her bed in the morning.

She pointed, "Are you sick or something?"

Mia looked to where Emily was pointing and noticed the problem. Her bed wasn't made.

"Uh… about that…"

"Even after naps you make the bed. You make the bed after I make the bed… why is it all lumpy and frumpy?"

"Scruffy must have…"

"No," Emily shook her head, "the door was closed when we got home. He didn't come in here at all."

"Smart kid," Serena chuckled. She already knew why Mia's bed was a bit of a mess. The problem was that Mia didn't know she knew. She figured if the truth was going to come out, it was now or never. "So, why does your bed look like someone's been jumping on it all night?"

Mia began to blush as she changed into her pyjamas. She shrugged her shoulders when she was dressed and took a seat on her bed, "Uh, you know… we were all really tired and…"

"Mia, if you could sleep walk you would make the bed in your sleep," Emily said. "Some nights, when I can't fall asleep and you start talking in yours, I can hear you telling me how to make the bed!"

Mia looked across the room at her two sisters, "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes," Emily and Serena nodded their heads. In her mind, Serena was screaming no. She already knew the answer and she really wished she was as clueless as her sister.

"Kevin and I… slept together," Mia looked down at her hands nervously, waiting for the sisters' reactions. Serena shut her eyes, trying to get rid of the mental image, while Emily just sat there, completely stunned.

"Wait… slept together as in…"

"Yeah, Emy, we had sex."

Emily quickly covered her ears, "LALALALALALA!"

Mia raced across the room and covered Emily's mouth before the boys all heard her and came in to check up on them, "Shh, no one knows!"

Serena began to cough, remembering that Mike knew as well and it was likely that he was trying to get Kevin to spill the beans in the other room.

Mia looked up at Serena when she heard the older Samurai coughing. She noticed Serena had a guilty look on her face and she gasped, "You knew!"

"You did!" Emily's eyes were wide before she crossed her arms and huffed loudly, "Not fair!"

"Mike and I were…"

"Mike knows too?" Mia buried her head in Emily's blanket, "Oh no…"

"I kept him in line," Serena promised the pink Ranger. "If it helps, Antonio and Jayden are clueless. Mentor…"

"Knows," Mia nodded. "He walked in on us right before it happened."

"Awkward," Emily sung softly. Mia chuckled.

"A little."

With the initial shock over and the secret out, Serena was feeling a little more comfortable with the matter now, and she could tell Mia was ready to talk about it openly. There was a look in the pink Ranger's eye that screamed just how eager she was to talk and how happy she was to share the news with the two sisters.

"So," Serena leaned forward, "How was it?"

"Ew," Emily grabbed her pillow and buried her face in it, "Skip!"

"Best night… well afternoon of my life!" Mia was beaming at this point, reliving the excitement in her mind. Emily was gagging.

"He's like my brother!"

"Don't listen, then," Serena shoved her sister aside and turned back to Mia, "Skip the graphic stuff and tell us everything."

"No!" Emily covered her ears.

"Kevin proposed," Mia smiled. Emily sat up completely straight when she heard this and Serena's jaw hit the mattress. Suddenly, and at the same time, both girls looked down at Mia's left hand.

"But… but…" Emily stammered.

Mia held up her left hand, "Well, he didn't like… propose, propose but… we promised to get married when all this Ranger stuff is done, so technically…"

"I'm so flying home for that," Serena smiled. She launched herself forward, choking the pink Ranger in a hug, "I'm so happy for you two!"

"Are you getting a big ring?" Emily asked. "What did he say? How did he do it?"

"Now who's suddenly interested," Mia teased. "He said we would make it official later… though I don't know if he meant the wedding or if he wanted to propose again properly."

"Make him propose again!" Emily said as she bounced excitedly on the bed. "I want to be there when it happens! I want to see your face!"

"Calm down," Serena laughed, grabbing her sister and holding her down. That didn't last for long. Emily threw herself into Mia's arms and almost knocked Mia, and herself, right off the bed.

"If you two keep this up I'm going to have a serious concussion before the day's done," Mia laughed. "No more tackle hugs, please."

"He has to get you a ring," Serena told Mia. "He's not worth it if he doesn't get you a ring."

Mia smiled and got off the girls' bed to walk over to her night table. She opened up her drawer and pulled out Kevin's medal. She placed it around her neck with a wide grin and turned back to the sisters.

"He said this was the temporary ring," she held the medal in her hand proudly; "I don't need anything more."

"Aw," Emily cooed. She held her hand out, "Can I see it now?"

"No way," Mia laughed. She crawled into her bed and slid under the covers.

Serena and Emily smiled for the pink Ranger, "Congratulations," they told her before turning out the lights.

-Samurai-

Over in Mike and Kevin's room there was less bouncing around as the two boys got ready for bed. Kevin had a strict routine he needed to follow every night before getting into bed, and even when he was dead tired, he still had to follow it.

As he brushed his teeth he stepped out into the bedroom. He looked at Mike, who was trying to hide from the bedroom and bathroom light by hiding his head under the pillow.

"Hey, Mike," Kevin called but Mike didn't move. Kevin picked up one of Mike's dirty socks and tossed it at his best friend, "Mike! I know you're awake!"

"Go to bed!" Mike groaned. He pulled his head out from under the pillow and rolled over onto his back, "You're not going to get cavities if you don't brush your teeth this one time."

Kevin walked back to the bathroom sink and spit. He cleaned off his toothbrush and set it down. He rinsed his mouth and checked himself one last time in the mirror before turning off the bathroom light and heading to his bed.

Finally thinking he could get some sleep, Mike shut his eyes. He could tell the lights were still on and waited for Kevin to turn them off.

He waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally he threw his hands up in the air, "I'm tired, Kevin, I want to sleep."

"Can I tell you something first?"

"Can it wait?"

"No," Kevin shook his head. "You're my best friend. It can't wait. You have to be the first person I tell."

Mike groaned and sat up. He had an idea of what Kevin was going to tell him, but he had to act like he was totally clueless.

"I asked Mia to marry me."

Mike blinked and he felt his jaw slowly slipping down to the mattress. After several moments of shock he sighed loudly in relief.

"Phew!" he wiped his brow, "I thought you were going to tell me you and Mia had sex."

The colour drained from Kevin's face, "What?"

"Uh…"

"How did you…?"

"'tletusandhe'snotgoodatkeepingsecets," Mike said all in one breath. The secret was out and he was sure Kevin was going to kill him for knowing. He covered his head with his arms, "Don't hurt me."

"Mentor told you?"

"Not really," Mike shook his head while still shielding himself. "He suggested I bring Emily to my bed and told me he trusted me. That's when I got suspicious."

"When he told you to bring Emily here?"

"When he said he trusted me," Mike laughed. There was a brief silence between him and Kevin before the green Ranger leaned forward, "So, wait… did you actually propose?"

Kevin nodded his head, "Yeah."

"Was this before or after you had sex?"

"Mike…"

"I need to know!"

"Before."

"Was it good?"

"What?"

"Was it good?"

Kevin sighed and shook his head in disappointment, not at the afternoon he had shared with Mia, but at Mike. He knew to expect this when Mike found out, but it was still a bit of a shock to him to actually have this conversation.

"Well," Mike pressed when Kevin didn't answer right away. "C'mon, hesitation isn't good, dude."

"Yes, Mike, it was good."

"Sweet, so…"

"Any more questions and I'll rip your tongue out," Kevin threatened. "Mia and I had sex. We had a good time. I'm happy with it and I'm sure she was too. That's all you need to know."

"That's all I want to know," Mike nodded, "I'm happy for you, man, but she's like… my sister. I was going to ask you about the proposal. How did that happen?"

"I can't live without her, Mike," Kevin smiled. "She's everything to me. When I thought I lost her… you saw how I was. Getting her back, holding her in my arms… there was only one thought on my mind. I wanted it to last forever."

"Ew…"

"What?" Kevin frowned.

"You sound like one of those love-sick dudes in Mia's sappy chick flicks."

"Have you heard yourself when you're around Emily?" Kevin laughed. "You're just as bad, maybe worse."

Mike rolled his eyes, "Whatever. So how did you do it?"

"I just asked her," Kevin answered. "It was in the moment… it just kind of happened."

"Did you even get down on one knee?"

"I was on her…"

"No," Mike shook his head. "No, no… dude, we have to do this right!"

"We?" Kevin laughed. "I'm marrying Mia. You're not involved, at all."

"Not even as best man?" Mike placed a hand on his heart, "I'm hurt, man."

"Of course you would be my best man, but only when…"

"Then that settles it," Mike jumped up on his bed and adopted a superhero pose, "I have to help you propose to Mia the right way. She's been nothing but amazing to all of us, and I'm not going to let her stick-up-his-ass-boyfriend ruin her dreams by not doing things right. You're getting her a ring, you're getting down on one knee and you're going to ask her to marry you or I'm not the green Ranger."

"Go to sleep before someone hears you," Kevin chuckled, tossing his pillow at Mike and knocking him back into his bed. Mike tossed the pillow back and smiled.

"I'm happy for you, dude. Really, I am," he told Kevin as he put his head on his pillow to sleep.

"Thanks, Mike."


	197. Less Than A Day

Serena was the first one awake in the girls' bedroom and she slowly climbed out of bed. Just knowing she was going to leave soon made her want to spend as much time as possible with her sister and the other Rangers. Therefore, her brain had woken her up long before the others to make sure she wouldn't miss a moment.

She dragged her feet across the floor as she walked to the kitchen and started to brew some coffee. She propped her elbows against the counter and rested her head in her hands as the coffee maker whirred to life.

She heard someone approaching her from behind but didn't react until a plane ticket was set down in front of her. She looked at it and shrugged until she saw the date on the ticket.

"Tonight?" she spun around to face Mentor Ji. "Are you kidding me? I thought I had at least a day or…"

"Japan is a day ahead, technically," Mentor chuckled. "You will be arriving there in two days."

"But… I…"

"You must know how important your duties are," Mentor told her while nodding his head. "We've put the Tengen Gate in enough danger by keeping you here for as long as we have."

"Sorry. Next time some psycho Nighlok comes after me with a grudge I'll ask them not to beat me to death."

"You know what I mean. If Master Xandred finds out the Gate is unguarded he will surely go after it. You must be there to protect it."

"Blah, blah, blah," Serena rolled her eyes and handed the ticket back to Mentor, "You're giving me less than a day to say goodbye to my entire life. My friends, my family… I haven't seen my parents…"

"They know you are safe," Mentor smiled to Serena. "I had to contact them as well as the other parents when you were missing. I didn't tell them you specifically were in danger; however I felt it was important to let everyone know the Rangers were okay, once the danger had passed, of course."

"Right, so before or after I woke up?"

"Your parents got a personal call after you woke up," Mentor assured her. "I could not give them details but I told them about your responsibilities to the Tengen Gate. They are proud of both you and Emily and they send you their love."

"And you wait until now to tell me," Serena sighed. She turned to the coffee maker as it finished brewing her coffee and she poured herself a mug. As she walked to the table she had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew nothing bad was going to happen. The feeling was more related to the fact that she was about to leave, for good, again, and she had very little time to say goodbye. She hoped things went off without a hitch. With no more duels and no more Dekker, she couldn't count on being able to travel back and forth between America and Japan. This time, when she left, it was permanent. She wouldn't be back until her sister and the Rangers defeated the Nighlok and sealed Master Xandred away for good.

She glanced at Mentor as he sat at the table with her, "You better make sure Jayden masters that sealing symbol," she muttered. "If he can't, I'm making you Elder Guardian of the stupid Gate. I'll see how you like it."

Mentor chuckled. He knew she took her responsibilities seriously and that her obvious disdain was only due to the fact that she had to leave everyone behind. It was a lot to ask of her, but at the end of the day, the Samurai wouldn't be able to do their job if Serena didn't do hers. If Master Xandred, or anyone with bad intentions, got their hands on anything hidden inside the temple of the Tengen Gate, the world would be in so much danger that not even the Rangers could do anything about it.

"The Rangers won't be up for a little while," Mentor told Serena. "I woke up early this morning just to turn off all their alarm clocks. You deserve a rest."

"Before I leave, I'm giving Emily some of this coffee and I'm letting her loose," Serena frowned. "You deserve that."

Mentor chuckled, "I thought, to pass the time, I could tell you a couple of stories from when your mother was the yellow Ranger."

"I heard them all."

"Really?" Mentor smirked. Serena raised her head and looked at the older man.

"This should be good," Serena crossed her arms on the table and smiled.

-Samurai-

Kevin tried to gently shake Mike awake but it wasn't working. Though Mentor had turned off the alarm clock, Kevin always woke up at 6:00 AM.

Mike, unless he was woken up by breakfast or Kevin, always woke up after noon.

This morning, though, Kevin needed Mike up early. Even though Mentor was letting them sleep in, Kevin needed his best friend out of bed.

"Mike!" he called the boy's name. Still, Mike didn't stir. Kevin sighed and looked at his finger. He knew what he had to do. With a sour expression he licked his finger and then stuck it in Mike's ear.

"AH!" Mike jumped up and pulled his head away from Kevin as he rubbed his ear. "I'm up. I'm up!"

"I need your help."

"No. You need help. Period! Dude, I was sleeping!"

"I need to get Mia a ring."

Mike looked at the clock: 8:00, "It's too early."

"I've been lying awake in bed for two hours thinking about the perfect ring. I can't wait anymore. Get up, shower and get dressed. We're going now."

"No…" Mike whined and hid under the nice, warm, comfortable blankets.

Kevin rolled his eyes and ripped the blanket and the sheet right off the bed.

"Get up! I'll meet you outside in twenty minutes. We'll eat breakfast on the way."

"Dude, this is not what I meant when I said I was going to help you," Mike rolled right out of bed and landed on his hands and knees on the floor. He crawled into the bathroom to start getting ready. Kevin shook his head and laughed before stepping out into the hallway and nearly bumping into Mia.

"Whoa, hey, good morning," he smiled, leaning forward to kiss her. He noticed she was wearing his medal around her neck – his temporary engagement ring. He smiled and tapped it gently, "Glad to see you haven't changed your mind."

"Of course not," Mia giggled. She saw Kevin was already showered and dressed and frowned. Her alarm clock hadn't gone off, though she remembered setting it the night before. She knew it had been turned off and assumed she had permission to sleep in (whether it was true or not she accidentally slept in anyways). She could only wonder why Kevin was already so up and about. "Where are you off too?"

"A few errands with Mike," Kevin said casually. "He's got a few things to pick up and I'm going with him."

"Wow, you two are getting along," Mia smirked. "Maybe the world is ending."

"Ha-ha," Kevin chuckled before turning back into his room and shouting, "I don't hear the shower going, Mike!"

"I'm working on it!" Mike shouted back. Mia rolled her eyes.

"He doesn't seem all that eager to go."

"Trust me, he couldn't wait to get out of bed," Kevin laughed. He kissed Mia again before hurrying off, "You and me, dinner tonight!"

"Can't wait," she called to him, watching him run off in what seemed like a hurry. She couldn't help but wonder where he was going and why he seemed so excited to get there.

She didn't even make it to the kitchen before bumping into Serena. The older woman looked at her excitedly.

"You're up! Is Emily up?"

Mia shook her head, "She's still sleeping. Why?"

Serena's face fell, "Oh."

"What's up?"

"I'm heading back to Japan tonight," she sighed. "Mentor booked my flight. I've got less than a day left before I have to leave."

"Go wake her up, then," Mia chuckled, giving Serena an easy solution. "What's the worst that'll happen? Emily will run out of energy?"

"Good point," Serena smiled. She hugged the pink Ranger, "How about the three of us go for a quick lunch later. I don't want to miss the chance at a proper goodbye to you."

"I'm popular," Mia nodded her head, "lunch is perfect. I'll probably be getting ready for dinner when you're leaving."

"Dinner?" Serena asked, "Dinner with who?"

"Antonio," Mia joked, "You know, I really think there's something special between me and him."

"Oh, really?" Serena asked, playing along for a quick moment before getting serious. She nudged the pink Ranger, "So, what does this mean? Yesterday he proposed and today he's taking you to dinner?"

"I guess."

"When I land in Japan and phone here to say I've made it safe and sound and that I miss everyone already, you better tell me what that ring looks like," Serena smirked.

"_If_ that's what this dinner is then I promise you I'll tell you everything when you call," Mia nodded and smiled. "Emily will have to wrestle the phone out of my hand to talk to you."

"Good. Now, speaking of the little annoyance, I have a ball of energy to wake up."

"Be gentle," Mia called as Serena raced down the hallway, "If you tease her when she's only half awake she will try to hit you. Sometimes it hurts."

Serena opened the door to her bedroom – Emily and Mia's now that she was leaving – and tip-toed quietly over to hers and Emily's bed (or just Emily's considering she would never sleep in there again). She didn't make a single sound until she jumped right on top of her sister.

"Mentor's being stupid. He booked my flight for tonight. Get up and get dressed, you're not leaving my side at all today!"

"You're leaving?" Emily sat up and looked at her older sister sadly. Serena nodded her head slowly.

"You know how important my job is," she told her sister. "I probably should have left days ago."

Emily jumped into her sister's arms, "I don't want you to go."

"Neither do I," Serena hugged her sister, "but I have to. And because I won't see you for a while, we're going to spend the entire day together. What do you want to do first?"

"Walk the dog."

Serena blinked, "Seriously? Get someone else to do it…"

"Trust me."

"Alright," Serena nodded and slid off the bed, "But we're meeting Mia for lunch. We have to be back in time for that."

"We will," Emily promised. "I'll get changed. Can you find Scruffy?"


	198. A Proper Engagement

"Do you even know what you're looking for?" Mike asked as he leaned against the counter at the jewellery store and watched Kevin look at the rings over and over again. The blue Ranger nodded his head.

"I told you I would know it when I see it."

"You look clueless. Dude, just take that one," Mike pointed to any ring at random. They all looked the same to him.

"I feel bad for Emily," Kevin rolled his eyes. "You said you were going to help me."

"I thought this was an afternoon task," Mike mumbled. "You know, sleep-in, eat breakfast with my girlfriend, play video games for an hour or two and then give Mia some lame excuse on why you and I had to suddenly leave."

"The faster we find a ring the faster you can go home and be with your precious video games."

"Thank you," Mike nodded. He pointed to another ring, "How about that one?"

"Mike, please be helpful."

"I am. If you say no then I'll move to the next one. Like that one. Look, it's pink."

"So cliché," Kevin shook his head. "She's the pink Ranger but that doesn't mean everything she owns needs to be pink."

"How about green then?" Mike pointed to a green ring and he smirked.

"No."

"Yellow?"

"Why did I know you were going to say that?"

"Red?"

"No."

"Gold?"

"No."

"Blue?"

"Mike."

"What?

"Stop helping."

"You asked for it," Mike shrugged. He remained completely silent as he gazed at the rings himself and left Kevin to do all the work.

Suddenly, he saw a ring that he just couldn't keep from Kevin. He tapped his friend on the shoulder.

"Does your perfect ring look like that?" he asked.

Kevin looked at the ring and smiled. It was princess-cut diamond with a silver band. Simple yet breathtakingly beautiful. Kevin could already see it on Mia's left hand as it rested perfectly on her finger and announced to the entire world that the kindest and most beautiful woman on the planet was his forever.

"How much is it?" Mike asked when he saw Kevin's eyes light up and figured that meant it was the perfect ring.

Kevin shook his head, "I don't care."

-Samurai-

"So, I might not see you for months, maybe years, and you take me on a walk through the park… with your dog?" Serena asked her little sister. She then tapped the top of the backpack Emily was carrying, "What's up with this?"

Emily pointed to a spot under a big, shady tree, "There?"

"Sure," Serena nodded. She walked to the tree and took a seat. All Emily had told her was that they were going to be spending some time at the park. Emily handed her sister Scruffy's leash and then removed the bag from her back. Serena watched as Emily pulled her flute case and a few music sheets out and placed them in the grass before pulling out a water bottle and a bowl for Scruffy. As Emily gave the dog a bit of water, Serena picked up the music sheets and read them.

"I don't recognise this song," she said. "Did you…"

"Yeah," Emily nodded. "Don't laugh."

"Why would I laugh?" Serena asked her little sister. She pulled Emily's flute out of the case and handed it to her, "Let me hear some of it."

"I started writing it when after I left," Emily said, "back when you were sick. I wanted to play it for you when I came home, to make you feel better, but that's not going to happen."

"You make that sound like a bad thing," Serena laughed.

"It's finished, so I want to play it for you now, before you leave. Is that okay?"

Serena nodded and chuckled slightly at her sister's hesitation to play. Emily always hated being put on the spot. She was so afraid of being judged and ridiculed when she was the center of attention that she avoided it whenever possible. Even around Serena, Emily got nervous and insecure.

Emily gently held the flute under her lower lip and started to play for her sister. Tears formed in Serena's eyes as she listened to the music. She could remember the day, so many years ago, when she first taught her sister how to play. She remembered watching her sister progress as the years went on. Before Serena got sick and Emily had to take her place, playing the flute was the only thing Emily was really good at. Even now that Emily had trained as a Samurai and had more skills and experience in combat than most people twice or three times her age, her swordsmanship still came second to her talents with the flute.

Even Scruffy stopped what he was doing to listen to the music. It went on and on, and Serena hoped it would never end. When it did she smiled and wrapped her arms around her sister, letting herself cry on Emily's shoulder.

"Amazing," she whispered in her sister's ear. "Simply amazing."

Emily smiled and held out the music sheets for Serena to take, "I made photocopies so I could keep practicing. Do you have your flute with you at the Tengen Gate?"

Serena nodded. She hadn't played her flute since before her illness, but it was always a comfort to have her flute by her side.

"These are for you then," Emily said as Serena took the music sheets. "You can practice it too… if you want."

"I'll try my best," Serena promised her sister, "I'll never be able to play like you."

"You won't be gone forever, right?" Emily asked, leaning into her sister for another hug. Serena laughed and shook her head.

"No way. Mentor Ji and I have made some arrangements."

"Really?"

"I'll come home, Emy. I promise. Until then, keep your head up, okay? Kick Nighlok ass and don't get into too much trouble."

"You too," Emily smiled.

-Samurai-

It was dinner time. Kevin was fiddling nervously with the box in his pocket. Mia had gotten up to go the bathroom to make a quick phone call and he planned on proposing to her when she got back, after the dessert had been brought to the table and before they ate it.

He didn't know why he was nervous. She had already said yes, and clearly, if she was here at dinner with him she would say yes again, but there was something about the idea of getting down on one knee that really scared him.

He saw her walking back from the restroom and smiled, forgetting all his worries as she sat down. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and took her hand gently.

"Enjoying your night?" he asked.

Mia nodded and put her cell phone down on the table, "The guys are all waiting for Serena's taxi to pick her up. They're all saying their last goodbyes."

"I'll miss her," Kevin said.

"Me too."

The waiter came over with their desserts, setting a plate down in front of both the Rangers with a smile. Kevin waited for him to leave before squeezing Mia's hand.

"I have something to ask you," he told her while reaching into his pocket. He pulled out the box and opened it, showing Mia the ring.

The pink Ranger had been told to expect this but she was still surprised to see the ring before her. The medal had been more than enough. She didn't need the ring. She loved it, though.

"Kevin," her eyes began to water as Kevin slid off his seat and got down on one knee. The entire dining room was watching at this point but neither Ranger cared. They were in their own little world.

"Will you marry me?" Kevin asked his already-fiancée as he slid the ring onto her finger. Mia nodded her head and pulled him in for a kiss.


	199. Goodbye

Serena looked down at her sister who was clinging onto her waist, refusing to let go.

"Every time," she muttered as she tried to pry her sister away from her body. "You really have to let me go. The driver's waiting, Emy."

"I'll go with you. We'll give you another suitcase and I'll hide inside! I can fit, I know I can."

"Emily," Serena laughed.

"The team doesn't need me."

"Yes, we do," Jayden told her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "We wouldn't be Samurai Rangers without a yellow Ranger."

"Besides, the Tengen Gate is boring," Serena said. "You're better off here, at home, with all your friends and Mike."

"Yeah," Mike nodded with a laugh, "I need you, Em."

"I'll bring Mike with me," Emily said.

The driver, who was sitting in his car, rolled down the window, "The meter's running, Miss. Are you getting in or not?"

"I've got to go," Serena finally got Emily to let go of her and she kissed her sister's forehead, "be good. I love you."

"I love you too," Emily smiled. She felt Mike wrapping his arms around her as Serena got into the back seat of the taxi. "Call me as soon as you land!"

"I'll call you once a week, how does that sound?" Serena said from inside the car. She blew her sister, Mike, Jayden and Antonio a kiss, "Take care, guys."

"Bye!" the boys and Emily all waved as the taxi pulled out onto the street and the four Rangers started to make their way home. They couldn't have the driver pull right up to the Shiba House and risk exposing it as the home of the Rangers, so they had him pick Serena up from the nearby bus stop.

As they made their way back home, through the forest, the Rangers could all feel there was a change of atmosphere. It was already weird with Kevin and Mia out to dinner, but Serena had been with them, and part of their lives for so long now that saying goodbye to her was like saying goodbye to a beloved family member. She had helped them with so much since she first arrived to the Shiba house. Even with all the ups and downs, they were proud to call her one of their own.

Antonio spoke up, breaking the silence.

"You know, it's really thanks to Serena that this forest is safe now," he said. "Jay, you fought Dekker in that duel, but it's Serena who really stopped him."

"She was amazing," Jayden nodded his head slowly and turned to Emily, "I used to think you were always exaggerating when you spoke about your sister. Boy was I wrong."

"It would have been cool to see what it would be like to have her on the team," Antonio commented. He turned to Emily quickly, "I mean, I'm team Emily, you know that, but still."

"I wonder sometimes too," Emily smiled. Mike held her close.

"Do you miss her?" it was a bit of a ridiculous question. Of course Emily missed her sister.

"Yeah."

"You'll see her again," he promised her. "If saving the world isn't enough motivation to defeat the Nighlok, bringing her home definitely is."

"We should begin training then," Jayden said as the group approached the house. He held the front door open for them. "Things are going to be back to normal tomorrow and we need to stay focused if we want to stop Master Xandred."

"I wouldn't say things are going back to normal," Mike laughed. "Uh, does anyone else here know why Kevin and Mia went to dinner tonight?"

Jayden and Antonio shook their heads no while Emily didn't say a word. She knew about Mia and Kevin's engagement, but she didn't know as much as Mike. Kevin hadn't told anyone except the green Ranger about his plan to propose to Mia properly.

Mike chuckled, "Well, you'll find out when they get home," he said before turning to Jayden. "That being said, we have to rethink the sleeping arrangements."

"Why?" Jayden frowned. "I thought everyone was happy with their roommates."

"We are," Emily giggled, "but Kevin and Mia need a little more privacy and…"

"They do?" Antonio asked.

"Trust me," Mike nodded, "they do. And this kind of privacy… well, they aren't going to get it unless they share a room."

"What? No way," Jayden shook his head. "I'm all for Rangers dating but…"

"Well, whether we make the bedroom changes official or not, neither Emily nor I will be able to sleep in our own rooms when those two are getting… really serious."

Emily frowned and looked up at Mike. He seemed to know something. She knew why Mia and Kevin needed privacy and she figured he was starting to catch on that they were getting serious, but she had no idea that Kevin told him.

She stood on her tippy-toes and whispered in his ear. Mike laughed and nodded his head before whispering in her ear.

When the whispering stopped, both the yellow and the green Ranger looked at their leader, "We demand a bedroom change."

Jayden sighed and shook his head. Antonio placed his hand on Jayden's shoulder and pat it gently as he laughed.

"Why do I get the feeling that we're never going to go back to normal?"

**The End**

**.**

**.**

_Author's Note: Just kidding. But two hundred(ish) chapters are enough for one story, don't you think? There will be more Samurai, don't worry. There's still quite a way to go, but like PRS this will be broken up into parts (or "seasons") and season one is now complete (for me at least)._

_I hope you all enjoyed the story. I know I have. I'd like to thank everyone for their support and I hope you'll all stick around for part two. There will be a few oneshots posted before I get the next story up and running again but I do promise to make a return soon (once the episodes come back and I have something more to work with. Stupid break..._

_Anyways, until next time! You all know I won't be gone for long!_


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